Former Red Bull F1 starlet claims drivers treated as 'disposable assets'

Dan Ticktum feels empathy for Nyck de Vries, who lost his seat at AlphaTauri to Daniel Ricciardo last week, stating that drivers often get treated as disposable assets.

However, the former Red Bull junior driver does ultimately understand the decision. De Vries was dismissed by AlphaTauri only ten races into his first Formula 1 season.

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An incredibly harsh decision, according to many. If there's anyone who knows how harsh the Red Bull family can be, it is Dan Ticktum. The British driver became a Red Bull junior in 2017 and was initially seen as a talent to watch.

However, as Red Bull was unhappy with his results in the Japanese Super Formula Championship, he got sent away halfway through 2019.

"I won't comment too much. All I’ll say is that Nyck’s obviously a very good driver, he’s proved that in various categories", Ticktum reacted to the news during an exclusive interview with GPFans.

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Even though Ticktum feels empathy for De Vries, he does understand where the decision is coming from.

"When you're representing Red Bull, AlphaTauri - these big companies, big manufacturers, whatever you want to call them - they can't afford to waste half a season or a season on a driver getting up to speed.

"Because Nyck would get up to speed for sure, but I think he has just struggled.

"I don’t know if it's pressure. Obviously, the AT04 has been pretty difficult to drive this year, so that won't help either", he continued.

"But they can't afford to wait. They need someone that gets in and goes quickly straight away. De Vries obviously has quite a lot of experience, he’s been around the block in motorsport let's say, he has won a lot of stuff, did well in Monza.

"I guess they predicted that he'd hit the ground running a bit quicker than he has. They've got other people in the frame, [Liam] Lawson and Ricciardo, who are very, very good drivers as well.

"So they just haven't got the patience, they need to hit the ground running."

Mental health in motorsports

Asked about the impact of these events on a driver's mental health, Ticktum replied: "I think we are very much treated as sort of disposable assets at the best of times, to be honest."

"There's a balance obviously, but a lot of us spend 15 years of our life getting to the point to be in the frame, to be a professional racing driver who gets paid.

" It’s a lot of sacrifice in your youth, a lot of work and a lot of money to get there - whether it's family money, sponsors, anything else, it's a big old journey."

"And when you do get to the top, a lot of the time you can be treated like shit, I'm afraid. But that's just sort of the nature of the game", the Formula E driver admits.

"Cream rises to the top, and you've got to try and stay there, but it is tough. And there is a lot of pressure, especially in his position."

"I mean, he's thinking: 'Great, I've got this golden opportunity.' But two races in, people are already judging him and all the media are down his neck, it's fucking horrible to be honest.

"So I do feel a bit sorry for him in that sense. Because like I said, there's nothing against how good he is as a driver, he's proven it. It just unfortunately hasn’t quite worked out for him, which is a shame."

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