Marko responds to firing De Vries: 'Why wait any longer?'
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On Tuesday, it was announced that Nyck de Vries' season was coming to an end after only ten races. The Dutchman was sent out of the job by Helmut Marko due to disappointing performance and will be replaced by Daniel Ricciardo as early as Hungary. Speaking to De Telegraaf, the Red Bull Racing advisor explained more about the choice.
Marko: 'Didn't see any improvement'
De Vries ultimately failed to score a single point for AlphaTauri and was often slower than teammate Yuki Tsunoda. "We expected him to be at least equal to his teammate Yuki Tsunoda this year, but that was not the case. Actually, he was always three tenths of a second slower. We saw no improvement," Marko told De Telegraaf.
De Vries does not impress
According to the Austrian, there was also no moment where De Vries performed exceptionally well. "He unfortunately did not once drive a super lap that amazed us." The Red Bull advisor also indicated De Vries was not a 'rookie' in his eyes, as the Dutchman already had a lot of experience in other racing categories and had also tested several times with an F1 car.
Ultimately, De Vries' disappointing performance meant that his F1 career came to an end after only ten races at AlphaTauri. "We had to do something. Why should we wait and what does two more races matter if you don't see any improvement? Nyck is a very pleasant guy, but the speed just wasn't there."