An ex-Formula 1 driver is currently fighting it out in court trying not to repay a sponsor loan that helped him achieve his racing dreams.
Back in 2018, driver Nyck De Vries was a young talent with F1 aspirations. But first he needed to make it through F2. Despite extensive personal sponsorship, Nyck was €250,000 short. Luckily, Dutch firm Investrand cane to the rescue with an offer he couldn’t refuse.
They believed in Nyck’s ability, and loaned him the cash. They agreed was that if De Vries became an F1 driver by 2022, Investrand would take 50% of his income for as long as he competed in the series. But if he hadn’t made it to F1 by that time, Investrand would write-off the loan.
By 2022, De Vries was a reserve driver for Mercedes-AMG F1 team. It wasn’t a race seat, but he was getting close! At that summer’s Italian Grand Prix, one of the Williams F1 tam drivers became ill and could not compete. Williams is an engine customer of Mercedes, so reserve driver De Vries was deputized to race for Williams,
De Vries seized the opportunity; beating his teammate (Canadian F1 driver Nicky Latifi)) finished the race P9 and scored a world championship point for the lowly Williams team. The drive was so impressive that reigning champions Red Bull signed DeVries to their junior team for 2023. The dream had come true!
Yet De Vries and his team refused to honour their agreement with Investrand. They claimed that even though Nyck competed in an F1 race in 2022, that was just part of his duties as a reserve driver; he was never a race driver.
This week, the Amsterdam District Court disagreed with De Vries actions. The court decided that not only does De Vries have to pay back the €250,000 loan, but he must also hand over half his salary from 2023 when he raced for the AlphaTauri F1 team. The Dutch driver man is considering an appeal.
DeVries has since left F1, being dropped halfway through his rookie season (F1 is a kill or be killed sport) yet it’s hard to feel sorry for someone who achieved their racing dreams then turned his back on the very sponsors that got him to the top of the mountain. Did Lightning McQueen’s commitment to Rust-Eeze teach him nothing?
Never lend money to a race car driver.
I’m on the side of the sponsor. Driver reneged and that’s not cool.
Im the dad of a racer and I was mortified by this De Vries felloes lack of integrity.
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Imagine, someone gives you hundrrds of thousands of dollars so you can ‘chase your dream’ and when the times comes to pay them back… after you reach the pinnacle of that mountain … you welch on the deal.
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Thats BAD. And will make other companies think twice about their involvement in motorsport ot any kind of sports sponsorship.
Absolutely. Integrity is SO important.