AlphaTauri rookie Nyck de Vries has received a vote of confidence from compatriot Max Verstappen after critical comments made by Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko.
De Vries is one of only two drivers yet to score a point over the first eight rounds of the 2023 season, along with fellow rookie Logan Sargeant. The 28-year-old had arrived as the most experienced and oldest of the three rookies in the field, having been a Formula E world champion and already have made his grand prix debut, stepping into Alexander Albon’s Williams at last year’s Italian Grand Prix and scoring points in eighth.Verstappen had lobbied Marko to consider signing fellow Dutchman De Vries following that performance. However, a series of incidents and the lack of points relative to younger team mate Yuki Tsunoda led to Marko admitting he had doubts over signing De Vries.
Marko said this week Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was not convinced by De Vries’ potential prior to signing him and that “I would say at the moment, it looks like he’s right.”
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, De Vries admitted he had underperformed but that it was only a “matter of time” until things improve.
“I think Dr Marko would appreciate if I prove him wrong on-track,” said De Vries. “That’s all I kind of feel about it and what’s within my control. So that’s it.
“There is no need to force anything. I think whenever you are trying harder or trying to force something that is not kind of ready then it won’t happen and then mistakes will happen. So I think the key is to just continue as we are and continue to focus on the job, remain patient and I think the potential is there. So it’s just a matter of time for things to come together.”
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De Vries was involved in an incident with Kevin Magnussen at the last round in Montreal while fighting over 15th place which saw him lock up and take to an escape road, costing him over 30 seconds and also holding up Magnussen. He admitted he “didn’t do a good enough job” in Canada, but said that the race showed how tight the midfield battle is.
“Basically from P11 to P20 everything is so close that when you don’t execute a good weekend it immediately puts you on the back foot and it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with direct car performance or development,” he explained.
“I’m sure that we will be back to where we were earlier but we’ve got to make sure as a team that we stay on top of everything and obviously I’ve also got to do my job.”
World champion Verstappen expressed his belief that De Vries will turn around his form and urged his Red Bull stable mate to not let criticism get to him, even from Red Bull’s leadership.
“We all know that this is motorsport in general, right?,” said Verstappen. “You need to perform to the best you can. It’s not forever.
“You can’t force things as well, so it’s about how you work together with your team, gain more experience as well. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what people above you say, it’s about how then you learn from your weekends, learn from your mistakes like we all do. Just get on top of the car a little bit more, feel a bit more comfortable. And definitely don’t force it – just talk to the engineers, ‘what can we do better, what can be worked on?’.
“At one point, when these kind of things click a little bit more, you can get these results. If you have one good result, maybe it leads to another one and then you feel a bit more comfortable anyway. So don’t get too stressed about it, just work hard together with all your people involved who can actually make a difference and influence your performance. But I don’t even need to tell Nyck, he knows that. He has a lot of experience.”
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2023 Austrian Grand Prix
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Proesterchen (@proesterchen)
29th June 2023, 18:45
Mr de Vries’ performances speak for themselves.
And for the level of competition he apparently faced earlier in his career.
Pete
29th June 2023, 20:11
To be fair, Yuki’s performances last year at times spoke for themselves… He can turn this around still but the odds are definitely against him.
Proesterchen (@proesterchen)
30th June 2023, 9:24
I think Yuki’s performances this year speak for themselves too. All the worse for Mr de Vries.
SteveP
30th June 2023, 7:55
So, if he was in a Red Bull, instead of the AlphaTauri (noted to be something of a dog, even by Marko) you’re saying he’d barely match Perez?
Proesterchen (@proesterchen)
30th June 2023, 9:25
Mr de Vries is slower than Yuki Tsunoda. I would rate Checo higher than either.
Matthijs (@matthijs)
30th June 2023, 8:02
@proesterchen I followed De Vries throughout his career from his last years at karting. There have been several times that I thought ‘this guy just doesn’t have it’ only for him to prove me wrong. His career shows that he is successful in every category he competes in, only it takes him time to get there. His career is a bit similar to Alex Albon’s, them often crossing paths. So I have no doubts about him being a very good driver. However, the true talents hit the ground running and are successful straight away.
If Red Bull would give him more time, than I think he would develop similar to drivers as Albon and Gasly. So pretty decent drivers. However, for Red Bull that is not enough. Both Albon and Gasly have been weighted and found wanting by Red Bull (do I say that correctly?).
In reality, De Vries will never become champion, so therefore I think it is very likely that Red Bull will release him.
Proesterchen (@proesterchen)
30th June 2023, 10:42
Agreed, if you’re looking for the next F1 WDC, Mr de Vries is unlikely to be at the front of your list.
SpaFrancorchamps (@spafrancorchamps)
29th June 2023, 20:08
De Vries can be a solid driver in F1, but his problem has always been that it takes him numerous seasons to get up to speed. In F1 you need to deliver straight away or you get sidelined. I guess it will not take long before he’s out.
Yuki is very mediocre and he can’t even keep up with him.
Nick T.
30th June 2023, 5:07
And, ironically, De Vries’ mediocrity has worked to boost the reaction/judgement of Yuki’s consistency this year from “he’s improved his consistency and shown decent speed” to a “Yuki’s taken a massive step!” from much of the F1 media. I don’t think any of the teams are fooled though. Definitely can’t see him going anywhere else, unless he brings a huge sponsor.
Xzo
30th June 2023, 7:01
If it takes him a long time, then explain his one off in the Williams last year?
MacLeod (@macleod)
30th June 2023, 7:57
@proesterchen strange enough as he showed last year in a one off he did very well in a Williams. I think it’s the car de Vries wasn’t very impressed with the car during test and the team didn’t had a lot of updates.
MacLeod (@macleod)
30th June 2023, 8:01
@spafrancorchamps above message was also for you but forgot to add you sorry for that.
We will see if he brings it around as Max has faith in him…
Matthijs (@matthijs)
30th June 2023, 8:04
@spafrancorchamps I wrote a reply before reading yours. It would have saved me some time because I echo your first paragraph.