Nyck de Vries could be in for tough F1 debut season as he steps us as team leader

Nyck de Vries should be given half a season to get up to speed as a full-time Formula 1 driver.

That is the view of Dutch GP boss Jan Lammers, who says it's "fantastic" that the Netherlands is enjoying an impressive moment in world motorsport.

"We now have a second Dutch driver in F1," Lammers, himself a former F1 driver, told De Telegraaf.

"What's happening is not normal. We also have Rinus van Kalmthout in Indycar. MP Motorsport (Dutch motorsport team) is the Formula 2 champion, Atze Kerkhof is a driver coach at Alfa Romeo, and Rudy van Buren is a sim driver at Red Bull Racing.

"There were times when things like this were totally unthinkable."

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High expectations

However, Lammers also warns that given Max Verstappen's dominance of F1 and de Vries' impressive Monza debut for Williams, the expectations on 27-year-old rookie de Vries may be too high.

"We can be very sentimental on the one hand, but I also think it is good to keep expectations realistic next year," he said.

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"What Nyck showed in Monza was wonderful, but he has also acknowledged that Monza is physically the easiest track and the best track of the year for Williams.

"We should all give Nyck the first half of the season next year to feel comfortable in the car and everything else that comes with it. We have to give him time for that," Lammers insisted.

"Hopefully, AlphaTauri will make some progress, and then we can really judge Nyck after the summer break. Anything he can accomplish earlier is a plus.

"We also cannot underestimate his teammate (Yuki) Tsunoda either."

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