Verschoor: 'De Vries needs a bit more time to prove himself'

De Vries is one of the most experienced drivers to make his debut in Formula 1 in recent years. Besides winning titles in Formula 2 and Formula E, the Dutchman has also earned his spurs in the World Endurance Championship and spent years on the sidelines at Mercedes as a test and development driver. His first race in Formula 1 immediately made a big impression for De Vries: during an incursion into 2022, he immediately managed to score points in a Williams, which was by far the slowest car of the season.

According to Verschoor, the impressive results list painted an unfair picture of De Vries. "You are thrown into the deep end," Verschoor analysed on Ziggo's Race Café. "It is also difficult for him. We have seen that he needed three years in Formula 3 and Formula 2 as well to do well. In Formula 1, that world is just a lot harder. I think he really has a few more races to prove himself. I do think he can do it, but he has to start doing it. He's good enough, he's just under a lot of pressure."

'Tsunoda has more experience than De Vries'

Prior to the season, AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost made it clear that he also had pretty high expectations from his new driver. Among other things, he stated that he wants to see De Vries in Q3 every race weekend in qualifying, and that he expects the Dutchman to assume a leadership position in the team.

"I don't think you can expect that from him as a rookie ," Verschoor stated. "Surely Tsunoda has much more experience with that car, and has also been through two different years. Surely he should know a lot more about that car."