Nyck de Vries has been sacked by AlphaTauri with immediate effect after the Dutch driver failed to make a mark in his debut season at Red Bull’s sister team.
Pitted alongside Yuki Tsunoda, de Vries has looked off the boil in his first season in F1 and reputed Dutch journalist Allard Kalff has confirmed that Red Bull technical advisor Helmut Marko eventually lost patience and pulled the plug on the deal.
Marko had already warned Nyck to improve his results or he would be shown the door. Unfortunately for the rookie, the Austrian has stood true to his word and continued a tradition of ruthlessness when it comes to drivers at Red Bull and now AlphaTauri.
Although Marko had publicly told de Vries to improve his performances, perhaps the Dutchman found it a touch too difficult in the pinnacle of motorsport and only managed a best finish of P12 in Monaco.
As things stand, he will exit the sport without winning a single point.
Who will replace Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri?
While there is no concrete word yet over who will replace Nyck, Red Bull reserve driver Daniel Ricciardo has been mentioned as the strongest candidate to take his place.
The former McLaren driver has been putting in a lot of work at the Red Bull factory on simulators and his input has been appreciated by both Horner and Marko.
Ricciardo’s tyre testing also went well at Silverstone, with Horner claiming that he was happy about the fact that the driver has ‘re-found his mojo’ amidst recent struggles.
Did AlphaTauri make the right decision in sacking Nyck, or did the driver deserve a longer run? Let us know in the comments.