Options for De Vries: Can he stay with Red Bull or are there others teams?

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, who divides seats at the main and sister team, has previously told Kleine Zeitung that he is not happy with De Vries and is "working on it". In the Inside line podcast, the Austrian already let slip that Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was not a fan of De Vries and that he seems to be right at the moment.

Meanwhile, Red Bull juniors Ayumu Iwasa and Liam Lawson are shining in other classes. The Japanese is battling for the F2 title, while the New Zealander is doing well in the Japanese Super Formula. Do the two pose a threat to De Vries' seat?

Iwasa and Lawson

Yes, although on paper there is little chance that either of them can get De Vries out of his AlphaTauri as early as this year. Iwasa simply does not yet have enough licence points to be allowed to drive in Formula 1 yet, and chances are that Marko will want Lawson to finish the season in Japan, especially as he did not manage to convince enough in Formula 2 and thus still needs to mature. But in the end, you never know with Dr Marko.

Assuming De Vries still has until the end of the year to prove himself, he still has 15 races left. But even if he does manage to perform soon, the question remains whether he is sure of his seat. Indeed, Red Bull broke with its own philosophy with the Dutchman's arrival. The energy drink manufacturer has long trained its own talent, hoping to give them a place in Formula 1.

The current AlphaTauri driver is not from the Red Bull programme and, at 28, is no longer a young talent. It is therefore possible that Lawson and Iwasa will be options for next season. So there is a chance that, despite performing better, his position is not secure within the Red Bull team. Are there any other chances then?

Williams?

Possibly, although De Vries has one disadvantage. He brings no major sponsors with him and Max Verstappen 's success means the Dutch market is already saturated. As a result, the former F2 world champion does not have the advantage previously enjoyed by the likes of Robert Kubica and Nicholas Latifi. This means he will have to punch his weight in gold on the track over the next 15 races to get other teams interested.

Had the former Formula E world champion not chosen AlphaTauri, he might still have been allowed to race for the Williams team, which eventually gave Logan Sargeant a spot. For now, the American rookie fails to convince and pales alongside teammate Alexander Albon. Williams was already charmed by the Dutchman and is grateful to him for his outstanding appearance at Monza last year, where De Vries drove into the points after just one free practice.

Old love does not rust

Perhaps the still pointless De Vries is doing the smart thing to stay in contact with the Britons, although his biggest fan, Jost Capito, is no longer at Williams. James Vowles is now the team boss, whom Nyck may remember from his days as a Mercedes reserve driver. It is well known that the Dutchman was popular at the German racing team.

So to keep his Formula 1 career alive, one thing is most important: to impress as soon as possible. There are great opportunities in Austria for Nyck, who has driven at the Red Bull Ring plenty of times in the past.