AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries faces lawsuit over junior career loan

Nyck de Vries, the 2019 Formula 2 champion and AlphaTauri Formula 1 driver, is currently facing a lawsuit in the Netherlands over a €250,000 loan that was used to support his junior racing career. The loan was from Dutch real estate magnate Jeroen Schothorst through his company, Investrand.

De Vries, who will make his full-time F1 debut this season, secured his permanent seat after a successful one-off appearance for Williams at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, where he replaced an appendicitis-stricken Alex Albon and finished ninth at Monza.

However, on the eve of his first pre-season testing program in F1, de Vries is now facing a lawsuit from Schothorst, who claims that the driver has not fulfilled the terms of the loan agreement.  

According to Dutch newspaper FD, the loan agreement included payment of 3% interest a year and a slice of any future earnings de Vries would make should he reach F1. Furthermore, the loan was to be waived completely if de Vries was not an F1 driver by 2022.

De Vries has reportedly paid €190,000 in interest to Schothorst but believed that the loan would be written off as per the agreement as he did not have an F1 race seat for the 2022 F1 season.

In a statement to De Telegraaf, Schothorst said: "We invested in De Vries' career at a crucial moment and when nobody else wanted to do it anymore. We now have different opinions of the interpretation of the agreement [that] we entered into with each other at the time. Things like that happen and, as a result, we unfortunately cannot escape taking the matter to court."

De Vries has denied the allegations about withholding information from Schothorst and has reportedly offered to repay the full €250,000, but the offer has been rejected.

In a statement, de Vries said: "I am disappointed that Mr. Schothorst has decided to take this matter to court. I have always honored my obligations under the loan agreement and will continue to do so. I look forward to the opportunity to clear my name in court."

The Amsterdam-based court is expected to rule on the case on February 3rd, with Schothorst potentially in line for 50% of de Vries' AlphaTauri earnings.