Former Red Bull driver Nyck de Vries has opened up about his difficult time in Formula 1 with AlphaTauri in 2023, acknowledging the struggles he faced before being unceremoniously dropped just 10 races into the season.
De Vries’ dream of racing in F1 came true, although amid an unexpected opportunity, when he stepped in for an ill Alex Albon at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix and secured a remarkable ninth-place finish with Williams.
His stellar performance earned him the interest of Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko and a full-time drive with AlphaTauri in 2023 following Pierre Gasly’s move to Alpine.
However, his stint was short-lived as Red Bull reserve Daniel Ricciardo replaced him mid-season.
“I guess I didn’t really come up to speed quickly enough,” De Vries admitted on the Cool Room podcast.
“I think there were some situations where the coin could have easily [landed] in my favour, but it didn’t.
“Ultimately, let’s say my bosses didn’t think it was good enough for the time I was there, and they decided to replace me.”
A Future in Doubt from the Outset
De Vries described the challenging environment, where speculation about his future swirled almost immediately.
“There were a lot of talks publicly about it, and I wasn’t really aware of anything,” he explained.
“At least there wasn’t really much of a dialogue with me, personally. You pick up everything through the media.
“During F1 weekends you speak a lot to the media, so basically every weekend since maybe my second weekend, I’d just arrived and I had to answer questions about my future, which felt a little bit out of place – but that’s how it went or can go.”
Nowhere to Hide
The 2019 Formula 2 champion predictably struggled to cope with the relentless scrutiny.
“You obviously have the media, so you have external kind of pressure, but you also have internal pressure, and every team deals with that differently,” he continued.
“When you have both, it becomes basically a double up. Everywhere you are, you almost feel like they [the media] look at you and they, I wouldn’t say attack you, but you feel that they write and talk about it 24/7.
“So when you are walking in the paddock, when you are moving within that ecosystem, everyone knows about it and you can’t hide from it.”
Trying to navigate the constant noise, De Vries resorted to blocking out the media.
“Even though you would like to, there is no way to escape,” he admitted.
“The way I tried to deal with it was just to ignore it and not to read anything – I just stopped reading any news. But you still kind of know it’s there.”
Pain and Relief
Despite the pain of his abrupt exit, De Vries admitted to feeling a mix of emotions.
“It was kind of painful to lose out on something that you’ve been dreaming of for so long, so quickly and prematurely,” he reflected. “I felt hurt, but equally, in a way, a little bit relieved.”
His struggles did not go unnoticed by Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, who later labeled De Vries as his “biggest mistake” in his tenure.
Since his departure, De Vries has returned to racing outside of Formula 1, including success in Formula E, but his story serves as a reminder of the harsh realities of the sport’s unforgiving nature.
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