Nyck de Vries has had a tough start to life in Formula 1. The AlphaTauri star’s rookie season hasn’t gone according to plan, and a three-week break in between races didn’t help him find his mojo. De Vries’ misery continued after his qualifying performance in Baku was cut short by a crash before he could get a time in.
Otra bandera roja! Esta vez, el que se fue al muro fue Pierre Gasly, en el mismo sector que Nyck De Vries.#AzerbaijanGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/IMpcBB41EN
— Fran (@fraanoteroo_) April 28, 2023
The Azerbaijan GP will host the first sprint race of the year, and qualifying was being held on Friday instead of Saturday. Just a few minutes into the session, De Vries, who was on his flying lap, locked up his tyres heading into turn three and hit the barriers.
The Dutchman clambers out of his car with bruised pride and nothing more
#AzerbaijanGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/hiBaMFPeoI— Formula 1 (@F1) April 28, 2023
As expected, the red flag was brought out immediately and the Dutchman’s evening on the Caspian shores came to a premature end. De Vries, who is struggling to find his feet in F1 wasn’t happy with himself and took to the team radio to show his disappointment.
“Oh my God – ughhhhh,” he said on the radio, as per Sky Sports.
What’s next for Nyck de Vries and AlphaTauri
AlphaTauri themselves, haven’t had a particularly strong start to the year. There is already a lot of pressure on them surrounding their future and potential sale, and Nyck de Vries’ crash won’t be improving the morale.
AlphaTauri, currently in 9th place with just one point to their name will be hoping for a miracle to leave Baku with a strong points haul. De Vries, who came to F1 with huge promise is yet to live up to them and score his first points in Formula 1.
Meanwhile, right after the restart, Alpine driver Pierre Gasly found himself hitting the barriers in the exact same place as De Vries did. This led to debris being scattered all over the track, and the red flag was brought out once again.
