Formula 1
De Vries cleared of wrongdoing in dispute over €250K loan
Nyck de Vries has been cleared of any wrongdoing in an Amsterdam court over a claim launched against him by real estate magnate Jeroen Schothorst relating to a €250,000 loan.
Erwin Jaeggi
Edited: Feb 4, 2023, 1:10 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The matter pertained to a loan that the current AlphaTauri Formula 1 driver took in 2018 from Schothorst’s investment fund Investrand to help fund an F2 campaign with Prema Racing.
The Dutchman had needed to raise half a million Euros for that season and with help from sponsors like Jumbo, he managed to get half of that amount. For the other half, he borrowed from Investrand.
Schothorst charged a fixed interest rate of three per cent per annum for this. It was also agreed that Schothorst would receive 50 per cent from all of de Vries’ F1 activities, which was described in the agreement as variable interest, and that the loan would be waved if he had not secured an F1 race seat by 2022.
Because de Vries did not have a contract as a Formula 1 racing driver in 2022, he was under the impression at the end of last year that the loan had been waived – and with that the agreement effectively terminated.
Schothorst, however, was of the opinion that de Vries had been active in Formula 1 last year as he raced for the Williams team at Monza. In the summary judgement, the judge sided with de Vries on this point stating that he never had a formal race contract.
"It is true that he participated in F1 on 11 September 2022 at the Italian Grand Prix, but he did so as a reserve driver,” said the judge. “He was not contracted as a race driver at that time. He was merely filling in for another driver with appendicitis.”
Nyck de Vries made his F1 debut with Williams at the Italian GP
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Schothorst also argued that de Vries breached the agreement by failing to keep him properly informed of all relevant developments concerning his career, including copies of his contracts, which was information Schothorst needed to determine if de Vries was paying the right amount of money as far as the variable interest went.
The judge did not go along with this either, as it was established that Schothorst had agreed to a payment of €114,361 being paid over the period up to and including 2021.
He had also not protested against a payment in two parts of €75,000 for the year 2022, when de Vries’ income was €150,000, while he was a Mercedes F1 test and reserve driver.
De Vries also stated there had been regular contact between both parties from 2017 until, and including, 2022 via phone calls and WhatsApp, and supported his claim by filing a 26-page long WhatsApp conversation.
The ruling further referred to a 2018 agreement with McLaren, which de Vries had not shared with Schothorst, but as this was a sponsorship contract not related to driver activities, Investrand was not entitled to half of the €56,000. This meant there was no obligation for de Vries to send a copy of this agreement to Schothorst.
Schothorst also wanted to see the contract with AlphaTauri, but, as de Vries believes their arrangement is no longer valid, he did not believe that was required.
In a statement issued to Motorsport.com, he said: "I have fulfilled all my obligations towards Investrand under the loan agreement and have always provided him with all the information he was entitled to under the loan agreement.
“Therefore, as far as I am concerned, the fact that the judge ruled in my favour was in line with my expectations. Hopefully things will now die down so that I can focus on preparing for the Formula 1 season."
His lawyer, Jeroen Bedaux, added: “Nyck has taken note of the positive verdict rejecting all of Investrand's claims. Nyck is obviously not surprised, but pleased that the judge also [fully] endorses Nyck's view."
De Vries will be in action with the AlphaTauri AT03 at Paul Ricard on Saturday to test rain tyres for Pirelli.
Read Also:
- Horner admits Red Bull’s real F1 RB19 will be ‘somewhat different’
- FIA reveals six F1 engine suppliers signed up for 2026
- Why Ford can offer Red Bull what Porsche could not in F1
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Horner admits Red Bull’s real F1 RB19 will be ‘somewhat different’
Next article No Bathurst lap record for Red Bull F1 car
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Erwin Jaeggi
Have your say: What did you think of the first race of F1’s new era?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Have your say: What did you think of the first race of F1’s new era?
Formula 1 will be harder to follow for fans in 2026 – Max Verstappen
Formula 1
Formula 1
Formula 1 will be harder to follow for fans in 2026 – Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen admits Red Bull won't be fighting for Australian GP win
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Max Verstappen admits Red Bull won't be fighting for Australian GP win
More from
Nyck de Vries
WEC title showdown: How Toyota’s two crews can win the crown at Monza
WEC
WEC
Monza
WEC title showdown: How Toyota’s two crews can win the crown at Monza
How Mahindra missed out on London win but capped its best Formula E season yet
Formula E
Formula E
London ePrix II
How Mahindra missed out on London win but capped its best Formula E season yet
Formula E Monaco: Nyck de Vries storms to victory, Dan Ticktum loses podium due to penalty
Formula E
Formula E
Monaco ePrix I
Formula E Monaco: Nyck de Vries storms to victory, Dan Ticktum loses podium due to penalty
Latest news
Austin Cindric wins Ford Veterans Day Classic at Daytona
General
Misc General 1 h
Austin Cindric wins Ford Veterans Day Classic at Daytona
Kevin Harvick: NASCAR needs a Gen 7.5 car and 'some hard conversations'
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
2 h
Kevin Harvick: NASCAR needs a Gen 7.5 car and 'some hard conversations'
Frankie Muniz "a little sore," released from hospital after Daytona crash
General
Misc General 3 h
Frankie Muniz "a little sore," released from hospital after Daytona crash
Frankie Muniz transported to hospital after Daytona practice crash
General
Misc General 8 h
Frankie Muniz transported to hospital after Daytona practice crash
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe