Helmut Marko described Nyck de Vries’ expulsion after only ten Formula 1 races at AlphaTauri as a necessary cut – and gave the Dutchman a good slap.
“We had to do something,” said the Red Bull eminence of the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf: “Why should we wait and what difference does two races make if you don’t see any improvements? Nyck is a nice guy, but the speed just wasn’t there.”
The Red Bull junior team AlphaTauri signed de Vries last year because of his strong performance at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, according to Marko. The Dutchman jumped into the Williams for Alex Albon at short notice in the Royal Park and immediately raced to 9th place. In his first season as a regular Formula 1 driver, however, de Vries disappointed. “We expected him to be on par with his teammate Yuki Tsunoda this year, but that wasn’t the case. He was actually always three tenths slower. We didn’t see any progress.”
Formula 1: Marko saw “not a single super lap” from de Vries
At 28, De Vries is an experienced racing driver who has also acquired a lot of knowledge in various Formula 1 tests, said Marko. “In my eyes you can’t compare him to a young rookie.” At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the end of April, the Dutchman finally had a strong start to the weekend, the 80-year-old recalled. “I thought he was performing better, but then he crashed again. Unfortunately, he didn’t do a single super lap, which surprised us.”
After the tire tests in Silverstone, AlphaTauri had done its job and signed Red Bull reserve driver Daniel Ricciardo to replace de Vries for the rest of the season.
“If Ricciardo hadn’t had the speed, we would have considered something else. But AlphaTauri is not in a good position and is last in the Constructors’ Championship, so we had to do something to change something. That often happens after a driver change. Ricciardo brings new energy to the team,” said Marko.
Just wait and see with Ricciardo
The Australian’s times in the Silverstone tests were “competitive” with three different tire types, according to the Austrian. For the Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, who has been criticized, the Ricciardo comeback is not a warning. “Checo is second in the drivers’ championship, it would not make sense to want to get rid of him,” said Marko.
In the case of Ricciardo, we first have to wait and see how he fares in the stable duel with Tsunoda. “I think Yuki is underestimated by many. The AlphaTauri is not the easiest car to drive, but Yuki has shown that it is possible to achieve good results with it.”