Red Bull Sacking Nyck De Vries Could Be as Bad as Listening to Max Verstappen; Claims F1 Expert

Nyck De Vries was labeled as one of the biggest talents in racing heading into his rookie F1 season in 2023. Unfortunately for the Dutchman, he has failed to deliver so far, and there is a huge possibility of Red Bull deciding to end his AlphaTauri stint prematurely. However, sacking him so soon could potentially backfire for the Faenza-based outfit.

De Vries is the only driver alongside Logan Sargeant who has failed to score points in 2023. Other than his slow pace, incidents and crashes too, have limited his chances, costing AlphaTauri a lot. But according to Scott-Mitchell-Malm of The Race, hiring De Vries was a blunder in the first place.

got that Miami vibe for race day 😎 @nyckdevries pic.twitter.com/kYqqeOnMGN

— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) May 7, 2023

According to Mitchell-Malm, De Vries wasn’t being considered by any F1 team until his heroic stand-in drive at the 2022 Italian GP. It convinced Red Bull’s chief advisor Helmut Marko to give the 28-year-old a shot at driving for AlphaTauri, a team that was struggling to find a second driver to Yuki Tsunoda for the 2023 campaign.

Pierre Gasly, who had been a part of Red Bull’s sister team since 2017, decided to leave for Alpine. As a result, Marko was struggling to find a suitable replacement, as none of their primary targets could be signed for various reasons. Watching De Vries put in a stunning performance with just a day’s notice seemed good enough for Marko, who was desperate to find a driver for Alpha Tauri.

Nyck de Vries struggling to live up to expectations

De Vries came to F1 with a wealth of racing experience. In 2019, he won the F2 championship and the former Mercedes junior became a reserve driver for the team shortly thereafter. Due to a lack of openings in F1, he decided to try out other racing ventures and ended up winning the 2021 Formula E Championship.

Many people called for the Dutch driver to be given a chance in F1 and when Albon missed the race in Monza last year, he got his lucky break. In what was arguably the slowest car of the 2022 season (Williams), De Vries mustered a P9 finish, which was a commendable shift put in by him.

However, much to everyone’s disappointment, De Vries hasn’t been able to replicate his previous heroics in his first full season as an F1 driver. Regardless, removing De Vries midway into his rookie season could turn out be as horrible an idea as hiring him was.

Red Bull shouldn’t have listened to Max Verstappen

When De Vries’ position in AlphaTauri was under consideration, it was the Dutchman’s compatriot Max Verstappen, who gave Helmut Marko a call to vouch for him. The two-time world champion, who shares a good relationship with De Vries, could very well be the reason by Marko gave him a chance.

Even though De Vries hasn’t lived up to the hype, not giving him a full-season in his rookie year could be a mistake. Many drivers take time to adjust to F1 and adapt to the staggering changes, driving in this sport brings. De Vries made his F1 debut at the age of 27, which is much older than when most drivers start.

Nyck de Vries finishes P9 and takes points for Williams on his F1 debut!

— F24 (@Formula24hrs) September 11, 2022

Now that Red Bull and AlphaTauri have given De Vries a chance, they should stick to him for at least a season, to see what he can pull off.