11/09/2022
NEWS STORY
Rookie Nyck de Vries is handed a reprimand after being adjudged to have driven erratically during today's Italian Grand Prix.
The Dutch youngster, who was called into action by Williams just a couple of hours before FP3 after Alex Albon was sidelined by appendicitis, finished the race ninth, joining a fairly exclusive club for drivers who have scored points on their race debut in F1.
However, shortly after the end of the race he was summoned by the stewards after it was claimed he had driven erratically, namely that he braked heavily under the Safety Car between Turns 2 and 3, while being closely followed by Guanyu Zhou.
Having heard from both drivers, a Williams representative and having reviewed video, audio and telemetry evidence, the stewards learned that de Vries had advised his team that after the second lap under the Safety Car he was unsure about why his display was showing that he was at risk of being under the delta time.
At the same time, he was dealing with brake issues and was in radio contact with his team over this issue also, so did not get any advice in relation to his delta.
He therefore reduced speed in order to remain above the delta time.
The stewards took note of the fact that the youngster was a "last minute" replacement for the usual driver and had driven the Williams for the first time in FP3.
Therefore, in mitigation the stewards decided to impose the penalty of a reprimand instead of a higher penalty.