'Horner wanted to make it clear in press release that Ricciardo has been loaned out'

Erik van Haren, F1 journalist for De Telegraaf, has opened up about the behind-the-scenes process surrounding the driver change at AlphaTauri in a broadcast by the newspaper. As is known, Dutchman Nyck de Vries was sacked, and Daniel Ricciardo is his replacement at the Italian team with immediate effect.

De Vries was deemed too slow by Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, who divides seats at Red Bull and sister team AlphaTauri. Following Ricciardo's impressive tyre test at the main team, it was announced that he would take over Nyck de Vries' seat at the Italians with immediate effect.

After Marko's phone call to De Vries, the news leaked out to Dutch media, where the first rumours of the 28-year-old driver's dismissal appeared on Tuesday. This would have forced Red Bull Racing to bring out the news earlier than intended.

It was very important for Red Bull team boss Christian Horner to articulate one thing clearly in the message, says Van Haren: "Horner very much wanted it to say in the press release that he has been loaned out to AlphaTauri." So, indirectly, it was important for the Briton to stress that Ricciardo is still part of the main team.