Albers on De Vries departure: 'Was about the fun of Ricciardo coming back'

Daniel Ricciardo has been designated as Nyck de Vries' replacement, as the Dutchman's performance at AlphaTauri has not exactly been satisfactory. The return of the good-humoured Australian has also caused a bit of a stir within Formula 1. Christijan Albers explains in the Telegraaf Formula 1 podcast how it came across to him.

"I secretly thought it was very dangerous how they brought in Daniel Ricciardo. Firstly, I didn't think it was appropriate how that went down in the factory. Just keep that internal, don't go filming that. I quite understand that it is a celebration that the old driver is back, that was really more the point. I don't think they intended to burn Nyck down like that. I don't think they thought about that, despite having so many press people," former Formula One driver Albers said.

Ricciardo back in Hungary

"It was more about having fun that Ricciardo was back. They were lucky with that, because if the weekend in Hungary did not go well with Ricciardo then the announcement could have been burnt down as well," Albers said.

De Vries failed to drive in the points during his first full season in Formula 1. Teammate Yuki Tsunoda already managed to do so. Next weekend there is a chance for Ricciardo, like the Japanese, to score points. This will then have to be done in Belgium at the Spa-Francorchamps Grand Prix.