De Vries blames impatience for Turn 1 struggles

Nyck de Vries pinpointed the field’s desire to make moves and overtake, as the cause of their struggles at the notoriously tricky Turn 1 in Monza. The corner caught out the likes of De Vries, Callum Ilott and Nikita Mazepin, amongst others in both the Feature and the Sprint Races.

Late into the Sprint Race, the Dutchman locked up on entry, which sent him skidding through the grass, and forced him to return in fifth behind Nobuharu Matsushita. A penalty for the Japanese driver, and Ilott’s subsequent retirement, promoted De Vries to third at the chequered flag – a position that he later admitted he felt undeserving of, but happy to achieve.

De Vries explained: “I think at the end of the day, we probably, even though I made a mistake, made fewer mistakes than others out there today. I do feel that personally I don't really deserve to be here today. Nevertheless, that's racing and it came our way.

“I don't want to be too negative or pessimistic at the moment. Of course we are happy to be back on the podium.”

Ilott suffered the same issues as De Vries in the final lap, but was forced to retire when his car grazed the wall and tore his tyre. The Dutchman explained that the combination of low grip, low downforce and DRS played its part in the mistakes they both made.

“I think it was similar to what happened to Callum,” he continued. “The grip level is quite low, we run low downforce and you're in DRS... The thing is, when you're behind someone you brake so much earlier than you actually want to brake.

“Obviously you're trying to push and you want to get closer to your own braking points. I instantly locked up and there were cars in front of me so there was nowhere to go other than the grass. I was lucky to save it and I had a huge flat spot. A huge one!

“The annoying thing about the Sunday race is that it becomes a train. That's why you see a few incidents in Turn 1 because everyone feels like they want to make a move but it's not really possible. There are cars in front and you can't really attack the brakes, so it becomes a bit of a train and then you get a bit frustrated.

“You get impatient and you want to make up positions but I think Monza has given some very exciting races. I think it was good to watch.”

Unlike Ilott, De Vries was able to return to the track, with both the time and the pace to attempt a recovery. This allowed him to score his second podium in as many races and complete a remarkable turnaround on a weekend that began with him being disqualified from Qualifying.

He concluded: “I was really struggling the last couple of laps but luckily it kind of recovered a little bit and I put some temperature back in in the last two laps. The pace was good enough to stay within the five seconds. I think the team deserve this. We came from a long way back after Friday night and brought back home some good points.”

With just two rounds to go, De Vries holds a 59-point lead at the top of the Championship, with the opportunity to claim the crown in Sochi in just over two weeks’ time.