Red Bull was subjected to widespread criticism towards the end of the first half of the season when they decided to sack Nyck de Vries, just 10 races into the campaign. Lewis Hamilton was one of the people who spoke up regarding the issue, claiming that it was just how Red Bull works. A month after he spoke about it, his Mercedes teammate George Russell joined in as well to defend the former Mercedes reserve driver by subtly criticizing the ‘Red Bull way’ as per a report by FormulaPassion.
Red Bull has always been criticized for being impatient with their drivers. In the recent past, some of the drivers who fell victim to this attitude include the likes of Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon. They both got sacked from the team without receiving much of a chance to prove themselves.
Fancy a bit of Mercedes/Red Bull needle in your De Vries’ #F1 exit coverage?
🗣️ Here’s Lewis Hamilton’s take on De Vries being dropped
Thread… 🧵 pic.twitter.com/WYu7nT0Ayj
— The Race (@wearetherace) July 20, 2023
De Vries was the latest victim, getting only 10 races to prove himself during his rookie season in F1. While Russell respects the way that Red Bull likes to go about with their business, he believes that de Vries did not get a fair chance to showcase his true potential.
George Russell believes de Vries did not get his deserved opportunity
George Russell was the latest addition in the long list of F1 personnel who have spoken out in defense of de Vries. According to FormulaPassion, Russell said, “He was in a difficult position from when he started so I do feel bad for him. He is Formula 1 level. But didn’t get the opportunity that he deserved.”
Russell explained that Red Bull did not really help de Vries with his confidence level by claiming at the start of the season that he would be leading the team. As per the Mercedes driver, making a driver the leader, even if they are 27 or 28, in their rookie season, doesn’t make any sense.
📰: George Russell criticizes Helmut Marko’s handling of Nyck de Vries, deeming it unfair. Russell highlights the pressure put on de Vries as a rookie and questions Marko’s decision to label him a ‘team leader.’ The AlphaTauri turmoil continues amid shifting F1 drivers.#F1… pic.twitter.com/uX4JZA4dWC
— F1 Naija 🇳🇬 (@f1_naija) August 29, 2023
“I didn’t follow Nyck closely during his time at AlphaTauri. But I saw the reports and things that Helmut said and it is a difficult place to go if you’re lacking confidence,” explained Russell.
Following his sacking, Mercedes had offered De Vries a chance to return back to his reserve driver role, but the Dutchman had other plans.
F1 drivers heading to school
After being left without a F1 seat midway through the season, de Vries decided to turn his attention to quite a new aspect of his life. The Dutchman is set to attend Harvard to study negotiation and leadership.
The former F2 champion is not the only racer who has turned their attention towards academics. Former Williams driver Nicholas Latifi also made an announcement a few months back that he would be studying in an MBA course at the London Business School.
As for de Vries, he would be joining his former team boss Toto Wolff at Harvard. Wolff is a guest lecturer at the university and is set to start his own course – a case study of the immense success that he achieved with Mercedes.
