“All to play for”, says reigning champion de Vries ahead of new Formula E season
Reigning Formula E champion Nyck de Vries believes it’s “all to play for” with the new season getting underway this weekend in Saudi Arabia.
Season eight of Formula E gets underway on Friday in Diriyah with de Vries looking to defend his title.
The Mercedes driver secured the title in a dramatic finale in Berlin.
With a completely new qualifying format for this season, it is expected to favour the quicker teams given the top drivers in the standings won’t be forced to qualify in the first group and thus have the worst of the track conditions.
Speaking ahead of the new season, he said: “I'm really looking forward to the first race weekend of this season. Of course, it feels slightly more special coming into this weekend as the reigning Champions. On the other hand, this is a new year, new season and that means that it will be all to play for again - for everyone, not just us. Above all, I'm motivated to start racing again and I'm ready for this season's challenges.
“We will not only face some very strong competition, we will also have to ensure we're on top of the sporting changes from the start. All in all: I cannot wait to get going.”
Stoffel Vandoorne remains alongside de Vries for 2022, meaning Mercedes has the same pairing that won the teams’ title last season.
The Belgian was on the wrong end of bad luck in 2021 but he’s confident of a strong start to the year in Diriyah this weekend.
“I'm excited about the prospect of feeling the adrenaline rush and the pressure that comes from working with the team and fighting for good results. I am optimistic about the weekend and about the year as a whole,” he added.
“The track at Diriyah has suited us in the past, and we have been competitive there. In the last two years, Nyck and I have made it onto the podium a few times. I think everything is looking positive, but there are a few new aspects for us to factor in - the new qualifying format, the new rules in the race; let's see how that turns out. I feel like we've done our homework and prepared as much as we can. Now let's get down to business and see how it goes.”
