Ex-Formula 1 driver BLASTS teams' driver choices after Nyck de Vries sacking

De Vries and Tsunoda — Photo: © LAT Images

Nyck de Vries

Ex-Formula 1 driver BLASTS teams' driver choices after De Vries sacking

Lucas di Grassi was speaking exclusively to GPFans

Kimberley Hoefnagel

Saturday 22 July 2023 16:27

According to Lucas di Grassi, teams need to focus more on methodology and data when hiring new drivers, The former F1 driver claiming he's noticed that teams often rely on single test sessions and gut feeling.

After the news broke that Nyck de Vries was being replaced by Daniel Ricciardo from the Hungarian Grand Prix onwards, Di Grassi took to Twitter to comment.

"When you axe a driver after 10 races it shows the process of making the hiring decision is wrong," he said. "Motor racing relies too much on instinct or “one lap” or “one race result” instead of looking the long term norm of a specific driver. So much methodology and data to make the car faster, so little to choose the right race driver."

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When asked if he thinks AlphaTauri made a mistake by hiring De Vries during an exclusive interview with GPFans, Di Grassi replied: "I don't know, but I would not hire Nyck based on the Monza result, because it could be an outlier.

Di Grassi: One test can change your career

"You don't have enough statistical data to make the proper decision with one race. So what I would do if I was Helmut Marko...Nyck did a good race in Monza, I would give him another race and then check if it actually was an outlier or if he actually consistently delivers, before hiring him."

"I see a lot of this," the former F1 driver continued. "I see a lot of people hiring after one test or one race. You do one good test, and suddenly you are the king of the world. You do a bad test, and suddenly you are nowhere.

"One test could change the direction of your career. Sometimes it's a track that you don't know well, sometimes there's something in the car that maybe is not the right approach, maybe not the right setup for you. So there are many different ways of looking at it."

All in all, Di Grassi insisted teams drastically need to change the way they choose their driver lineups, and should focus more on statistical data and use the proper methodology.

"It’s a lot about feeling, and about: 'Ah, that guy is very quick, so I want to hire him.' Maybe the guy is quick but does not score any points or crashes during all the races. Or the guy is very quick [over one lap], but is nowhere in the races.

"A good example of this was [Jarno] Trulli. Trulli was extremely fast over one lap, but not a very good racer. Yet he stayed in F1 for ten years or more because he was very good over one lap. There are many cases like that."

"I would say that you would be more assertive by using more data than the way it's currently done. That's what my tweet was about."

Asked whether De Vries should have been given more time, the Mahindra driver said: "I don't know the difference in performance, I don't know. I know Nyck from last year, as we drove the same car. He was my test driver when I was in the Audi, so I know that Nyck is a good driver.

"He did a good season in season seven when he won the title. He didn't do a good season in season eight, he was the last of the Mercedes Powertrain, So he had good seasons and bad seasons. I think he's a good driver.

"In some tracks, like Saudi Arabia, he was really impressive, but other tracks, he was nowhere. I don't have enough data to judge how he was doing in Formula One, because I don't follow it that close, so I don't know if he had the performance or not to be removed."