F1 News
Contention: Is Helmut Marko sending drivers off too quickly in Formula 1?
- Sam Godber
It is official: Daniel Ricciardo is going to replace Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri after only ten races. So the Dutchman is already being replaced during the season and it is not the first time this has happened at Red Bull Racing or AlphaTauri (previously Toro Rosso). Therefore the statement: 'Does Helmut Marko send drivers out of the door too soon in Formula 1?'
Ricciardo replaces De Vries
As early as Hungary, Ricciardo will replace the Dutchman at the Italian team, meaning De Vries has only been allowed to drive 10 races in his debut season in Formula 1 at AlphaTauri. The Dutchman had been under pressure with his team for some time due to disappointing results. De Vries was often beaten by his teammate Yuki Tsunoda in qualifying and never got beyond 12th place in the race. As a result, De Vries did not score a single point for AlphaTauri. Tsunoda did manage to score two points for the team from Italy.
De Vries is certainly not the first
De Vries is certainly not the first driver to be sacked by a Red Bull team halfway through the season (or earlier). Adviser Marko has been tough on his drivers before. In 2006, for example, Christian Klien was replaced by Robert Doornbos for the last three races, and Pierre Gasly was soon replaced by Alexander Albon in 2019. The most famous example is Max Verstappen 's switch from, then, Toro Rosso to Red Bull. The Dutchman replaced Daniil Kvyat at the time.