Nyck de Vries , AlphaTauri driver in the 2023 Formula 1 season , is facing a lawsuit from a Dutch real estate magnate over a €250,000 loan used to support his ‘junior’ career.
The Dutchman is being sued in the Dutch courts by Jeroen Schothorst, who alleges the pilot withheld information and breached agreements relating to a loan deal in 2018. According to Dutch newspaper FD , de Vries took out a €250,000 loan from the Schothorst’s investments, Investrand , to help secure an F2 seat with Prema in 2018.
This deal supposedly came with an interest rate of 3% per annum, as well as a cut in future revenues from F1 activities. The ‘contract’ also states that the loan would be waived if de Vries does not become a Formula 1 driver in 2022.
De Vries paid €190,000 in interest to Schothorst, but as he didn’t have a deal with F1 for 2022, he assumed the loan would be canceled as per the deal. But Schothorst claimed in court this week that de Vries failed to provide the necessary information about his earnings and contracts during the term of the loan and is now asking for those details, including those related to his contract with AlphaTauri.
Schothorst is also contesting last year’s definition of his test and reserve role in F1, which saw him formally work for Mercedes while stepping in for its customer teams when necessary.
“Let me first say that I think it’s fantastic that Nyck has become a successful Formula 1 driver and that there will be two Dutch drivers at the start of the Dutch Grand Prix in August,” Schothorst said in a statement released to Dutch media.
“We invested in De Vries’ career at a crucial time and when no one else wanted to. We now have different opinions on how to interpret the agreement we reached with each other at the time.”
“Stuff like this happens and as a result we unfortunately cannot escape taking the matter to court. We would have really preferred this to be different but that doesn’t change the fact that as a fan of pmrscs I wish Nyck every success. possible in the continuation of his career”.
De Vries denied all allegations, claiming that he provided Schothorst with all the necessary information regarding his contract. According to De Telegraaf, Vries’ lawyer, Jeroen Bedaux, claimed that the pilot proposed to repay the loan of 250,000 euros on top of the 190,000 euros of interest he had already paid, but this proposal was rejected by Schothorst.
“Everything shows that Investrand cannot tolerate the fact that De Vries became a Formula 1 driver in 2023 and not in the final year of the agreement,” Bedaux said in court on Tuesday.
Bedaux also claimed that another factor involved was that de Vries politely declined Schothorst’s offer to become his F1 manager. A ruling from the Amsterdam court is expected in early February.
