Marko denies a possible deadline for Nyck de Vries

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has repeatedly hinted that he is not happy with the performance of AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries. The Dutchman might be on the cusp. Speaking to Motorsport.com, Marko commented on De Vries' situation within the Red Bull ranks.

The Dutchman, together with Williams driver Logan Sargeant, is pointless at the bottom of the world championship after nine Grands Prix, where pre-season expectations were high. AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost saw De Vries as the new team principal of his Italian racing stable. How many seasons would he need to claim the seat next to Max Verstappen?

The 28-year-old Dutchman has so far failed to convince and is now starting to feel the heat of junior Liam Lawson, along with 'fan favourite' Daniel Ricciardo on his neck. Rumours were circulating that the AlphaTauri driver would only have a few weeks to turn the tide, although Marko silenced those noises. "No specific time frame has been set. There are a lot of changes going on within AlphaTauri at the moment. We are now putting everything together, and when the time comes, we will make a decision," the 80-year-old Austrian told us.

Ricciardo to AlphaTauri?

The consultant evasively responded when asked if Ricciardo's Pirelli tyre test, which he will run after the Silverstone Grand Prix, plays a role in the decision regarding De Vries. Should the Australian find his old form again, it could be an option for Red Bull to give him the Dutchman's seat. "I cannot say more than this. As I said, we will look at everything and then make a decision," Marko concluded.

However, the former driver was somewhat positive about the performance of De Vries in Austria. "I think this is one of the better rankings he has achieved," he said. Although, he does add a comment on that by stating that teammate Yuki Tsunoda seemed faster.