Nyck de Vries’ time as a regular Formula 1 driver is over after just half a season. The Dutchman has to give up his place for an old friend.
Formula 1 driver Nyck de Vries loses his place at the Alpha Tauri racing team to veteran Daniel Ricciardo. The Dutchman de Vries has to leave his cockpit at Red Bull’s sister team with immediate effect after just six months, the team said.
The Australian Ricciardo will be behind the wheel at the Grand Prix in Hungary next week. It is the first appearance of the season for the 34-year-old. Ricciardo has already won eight races in the motorsport premier class, one of them on the circuit just outside Budapest.
De Vries without a championship point
The 28-year-old de Vries only became a regular at Alpha Tauri at the beginning of the season as the successor to Frenchman Pierre Gasly. Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko has now decided to change after poor performances by de Vries this season, according to media reports citing several sources. In ten races this season, the former Mercedes reserve driver and Formula E champion has not yet scored a championship point and is last in the drivers’ standings. Most recently, Marko in particular had publicly counted the Dutchman several times and threatened to be replaced.
Veteran Ricciardo returned to Red Bull as a test driver before the season after McLaren parted ways with him. The 34-year-old apparently impressed recently with strong performances in the racing simulator and was in action in the current Red Bull model during tire tests at Silverstone on Tuesday. “I’m thrilled to be back on track with the Red Bull family,” Ricciardo was quoted as saying in a statement. He drove for Red Bull from 2014 to 2018 and was teammates with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.