F1 News: Nyck De Vries Faces Financial Woes As Legal Dispute Erupts

The AlphaTauri driver could find himself losing half of his AlphaTauri salary.

AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries has found himself in a legal dispute with real estate millionaire Jeroen Schothorst after his F1 debut at the Italian Grand Prix last year. 

De Vries stepped in last minute for Williams when Alex Albon was taken to hopsital. The Dutchman showed fantastic performance by out-qualifying Albon's teammate Nicholas Latifi and going on to earn points in the Grand Prix. This ultimately led to De Vries securing a full time seat for the 2023 season with AlphaTauri. 

However, it has also caused some issues for the Formula E champion. According to De Telegraaf, Schothorst is coming at De Vries for considerable remuneration for investments he provided into his driving career. 

The report states that Schothorst invested €250,000 through his company Investrand in 2018 to fund the Dutch driver in Formula 2. The loan outlines that it would gain 3% interest per year as well as a payment of 50% of his income from F1. However, if De Vries had not got into F1 by the end of the 2022 season, he would not have to pay back the loan. 

The 27-year-old driver has already paid back €190,000 whilst being a test and reserve driver in F1. Since his last minute appearance at the Italian Grand Prix, there is now confusion of whether that counts as becoming an F1 driver. De Vries is arguing that his debut in Italy does not compare to being a full-time F1 driver and there was no mention of a 'reserve driver' in the contract, and so is fighting that the loan has been repaid. 

This will be going to The District Court of Amsterdam with a decision being made on 3rd February and should the court rule against him, he will have to pay Schothorst half of his salary with AlphaTauri. 

The report from De Telegraaf goes on to reveal that De Vries has offered to pay the full €250,000 in addition to the interest already paid but the real estate millionaire has turned this down.