Investor wants money back from Formula 1 driver De Vries, lawsuit planned

Real estate millionaire Jeroen Schothorst will soon start legal proceedings over a breach of contract he alleges in a prior deal with Formula 1 racing driver Nyck de Vries. Previously, Schothorst's investment company, Investrand, had initiated summary proceedings, the Financieel Dagblad (FD) reported this week. Schothorst denied claims in the article from De Vries's representatives saying that Schothorst was acting out of malice because he did not get the job to manage De Vries now that he is driving for Alpha Tauri.

De Vries will be one of two Dutch people driving in the upcoming Formula 1 season along with Max Verstappen. De Vries borrowed 250,000 euros from Schothorst in 2018, according to court documents obtained by FD. In return, the real estate millionaire demanded 3 percent annual interest as well as 50 percent of the fixed and variable income that De Vries earns from his work in Formula 1. De Vries was obliged to inform Schothorst about these earnings at regular intervals. The loan was to be canceled if De Vries did not become a Formula 1 driver before the end of the 2022 season.

It is this date specifically where the two parties are at odds. De Vries raced his first Formula 1 Grand Prix in Italy when he replaced Alex Albon who had food poisoning in September. Prior to that, he drove practice laps for Williams, Mercedes, and Aston Martin.

Because of the Dutch driver's participation at the Italian Grand Prix, and his work as a test and reserve driver, Schothorst believes that he is entitled to half of the Alpha Tauri driver's earnings this year as well.

As part of the summary proceedings, Investrand wanted access to De Vries's contracts and earnings. The verdict will be announced on February 3. The main proceedings, the company reported, concern "a dispute over the agreement that the parties entered into with each other in April 2018."

"First of all, I would like to say that I think it is fantastic for Nyck that he has become successful as a Formula 1 driver," Schothorst said, rejecting claims that he wanted to become De Vries's manager. "We invested in De Vries's career at a crucial time when no one else wanted to. We now disagree on the interpretation of the agreement we made with each other at the time. These things happen, and that's why unfortunately we can't avoid taking the matter to court."