Nyck de Vries finds himself navigating a financial storm off the track. After a roller-coaster ride with Alpha Tauri that saw his mid-season exit last year, de Vries is now ordered by an Amsterdam court to repay a loan plus interest and fork over half of his 2023 earnings to former backer Jeroen Schothorst. Schothorst, a real estate millionaire, had sued de Vries over a EUR 250,000 loan agreement, claiming it entitled him to a slice of de Vries’ F1 income.
Despite a previous court ruling in de Vries’ favor, which seemed to close the chapter on this dispute, the latest verdict has reopened old wounds and imposed a hefty financial burden on the Dutch driver. “It was a matter of principle for me,” Schothorst revealed, underlining the importance of honoring agreements. He asserts his support was pivotal at a critical juncture in de Vries’ career, a sentiment tinged with disappointment over the breakdown in negotiations for a settlement.
De Vries, now back in Formula E, faces the dilemma of whether to challenge the court’s decision. His lawyer, Jeroen Bedaux, contests the interpretation of the agreement, arguing that the terms stipulated the loan would be waived if de Vries did not secure an F1 seat by 2022. Ironically, de Vries’ brief stint as a substitute at Williams in 2022 and his subsequent Alpha Tauri contract technically met this criterion, yet the court’s ruling suggests a different understanding.
“This is a very creative interpretation of the agreement and is not consistent with Nyck’s intention when taking out the loan and what he agreed,” Bedaux stated, signaling the potential for an appeal.
