Nyck de Vries faced an untimely, cruel end to his F1 dream when Red Bull terminated his contract in mid-2023. The Dutch driver’s stint with RBR’s sister team AlphaTauri lasted only 10 races in his rookie season. Subsequently, Red Bull replaced De Vries with their reserve driver, Daniel Ricciardo. However, despite the seemingly harsh decision, Nyck de Vries chose to keep quiet in the media. Nevertheless, breaking his silence, the 28-year-old has recently chosen to share insights into the matter in an exclusive interview with The Telegraph.
As quoted by GP Blog, he said, “Whether it’s fair or equitable is actually totally irrelevant to me. I also have absolutely no ill will towards Helmut Marko or Daniel Ricciardo or his temporary replacement, Liam Lawson. That’s part of the business”.
While Nyck de Vries may maintain a resilient mindset, believing that the events surrounding his departure don’t sow any seeds of negativity in his thoughts, experts and fans express divergent opinions.
The internet witnessed a flurry of chaos following Red Bull‘s decision to part ways with de Vries. Some of de Vries’ compatriots have themselves asserted that it was a premature decision by Red Bull to terminate his contract.
Reflecting on the whole termination saga, Dutch racing driver Tom Coronel initially said, “Racing is cruel and so are the decisions.” However, he later added, “In my opinion, it’s way too early to make a decision about a driver when you’re not even halfway the season.”
In addition to Coronel, Giedo Van der Garde, a former Caterham F1 racer, has also endorsed Nyck de Vries. Van der Garde emphasizes that de Vries was acclimating to the car gradually, indicating that he shares Coronel’s perspective.
Following his abrupt exit from Red Bull what is Nyck De Vries up to now?
Despite achieving a championship in junior-level racing, Nyck de Vries faced obstacles in his Formula 1 journey. As a result, he has temporarily redirected his focus to another facet of motorsports. In the upcoming 2024 season, de Vries is set to return to Formula E. The Dutchman will also join Toyota to compete in the World Endurance Championship (WEC), in the HyperCar class.
Examining De Vries’ decision, as Formula 1 fans, there’s a sense of pride in his chosen path. Nevertheless, at the same time, it prompts us to wonder what enabled de Vries to maintain his faith after being axed from the team in the midseason. Shedding light on this, de Vries himself provided an answer during his interview with The Telegraph.
The Dutchman revealed that he has received an overwhelming 4,000 messages of support, which played a crucial role in helping him navigate through this challenging period.
Nevertheless, life often adheres to the rule that when one door closes, another opens unexpectedly. Such a phenomenon has unfolded for Nyck de Vries is now poised to make his WEC debut with Toyota.
This aligns with the team he was previously associated with as a reserve driver. Now, as the opportunity has presented itself, de Vries can hardly contain his excitement. Reflecting on this during a conversation with The Race, de Vries said, “Endurance racing is something that I have always enjoyed and it is a discipline with incredible momentum at the moment.”
