Nyck de Vries has had a message from Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko. In Barcelona, Marko wants to see progression, Motorsport.com writes. If his performance fails to improve, Daniel Ricciardo would be a possible replacement, according to the medium.
Nyck de Vries is having an unlucky start to his career in Formula 1. The AlphaTauri driver is showing he is fast at times, but this is overshadowed by incidents. For instance, the man from Sneek crashed twice in Baku and had an unnecessary touché with Lando Norris in Miami. For now, he pales in comparison to teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who is fighting for points every week. Marko, who enthusiastically welcomed De Vries into the Red Bull family, wants to see more from his pupil. De Vries has three more races to get up to level, in Imola, Monaco and Spain. Under the Catalan sun, the Dutchman should start showing himself to Marko. It is not clear whether a potentially disappointing display will have direct consequences for the former Formula E champion.
One advantage for the 28-year-old De Vries is that he will now go to circuits he knows better. The previous destinations were largely unknown to him. At Imola, the former F2 champion has already made metres for the AlphaTauri team during a test. In Monaco, he already finished on the Formula 2 podium once.
Ricciardo to AlphaTauri?
If the Friesian fails to convince Marko of his abilities, Daniel Ricciardo would be a possible successor. The Australian is in good shape at Red Bull. The eight-time race winner has been spotted in Faenza and has reportedly had a seat fitted. However, not much should be taken from this. After all, Ricciardo is also the Italian racing stable's reserve driver and should be able to step into De Vries or Tsunoda's AT-04 in case of an emergency.
The good-humoured driver had a very successful period at Red Bull, but saw no future for himself at the Austrian team due to the rise of Max Verstappen. After a rather successful period at Renault, Ricciardo sought refuge at McLaren. Apart from a fantastic win at Monza, his tenure with the Woking-based team ended with poor results. As the third driver at Red Bull, the Perth man seems to have regained his enjoyment of the sport, and his confidence.