As a reward for his work in the Mercedes simulator last year, De Vries was allowed to spend a day in the W11 on Tuesday. The driver from Sneek toured the Yas Marina Circuit 110 times and set the second time of the day with a 1.36.595. Only two-time world champion Fernando Alonso clocked a faster time, with last season’s Renault.
“For Nyck it was his first day in a Formula 1 car and he impressed us by taking little time to get up to speed and at the pace he managed with both little and a lot of fuel in the car. drive, ”said Shovlin. De Vries was joined by Stoffel Vandoorne, his teammate with the Mercedes Formula E team and the official reserve driver of the Formula 1 team of the South German brand. “This was the last time we saw the W11 on the track for now. It was nice to be able to compete with our Formula E drivers Nyck and Stoffel one last time. They both have done a great job. Both Stoffel and Nyck contributed to our Formula 1 program in the simulator and today was a very useful opportunity to give them a taste of the real thing. And it was a great way for us to end the season. ”
Speaking of Vandoorne’s test day, who completed 82 laps and finished third fastest with a 1.36.840, Shovlin said: the W11 was driving, so it was interesting to hear his feedback. ” Vandoorne had gone fastest in the morning, but had to miss the end of the afternoon session, when the conditions for setting a fast time were the best. Shovlin: “Unfortunately, Stoffel had to leave earlier due to obligations with his Formula E team, which meant that he missed the cooler conditions at the end of the day, but we were able to complete his entire program with him.”
