Helmut Marko DEFENDS Nyck De Vries AlphaTauri sacking after claims of 'brutal' behaviour

Helmut Marko

Marko DEFENDS De Vries sacking after claims of 'brutal' behaviour

Red Bull adviser disagrees with Sebastian Vettel's assessment of driver's treatment

Lauren Sneath

Saturday 29 July 2023 10:57

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Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko has insisted that the sudden, mid-season sacking of Nyck de Vries from AlphaTauri was not ‘brutal’ after Sebastian Vettel suggested the move was ‘harsh’.

De Vries was sacked after just 10 races with the team, after scoring no points. His team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, who has been with the team since 2021, has scored two points over the same period.

De Vries was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo, who has been a reserve driver for Red Bull this season after leaving McLaren. At the recent Hungarian Grand Prix, Ricciardo’s first race with AlphaTauri, he came in P13.

Four-time world champion Vettel earlier this month told ITV that the sacking was ‘brutal’.

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He said: “It's obviously a shame for Nyck, the way it comes to an end. I think he was given a great chance.

"Maybe things didn't happen for him the way he expected, or people expected. But it's also a bit harsh when it comes to a very sudden stop like that. It's brutal.”

Marko: Know-how alone is not enough

Marko has defended the decision to axe De Vries mid-season, citing ‘stagnation’ as a key factor.

He told motorsport-total.com: “What’s brutal about it when the performance isn’t right?

“We made the move with De Vries because stagnation set in. There was no progress and he didn’t meet expectations. He just didn’t fit.

“We gave him a chance. And there are only 20 Formula 1 drivers. Not everyone can become that.”

Marko added that given De Vries’s considerable experience in Formula E and Formula 2, both of which he has won, means that he is not an F1 rookie and should not be treated as such.

He said of De Vries’s racing history: “That’s why other standards apply to him. He’s no longer a junior.”

“At some point in Formula 1 he tested almost all the Mercedes-powered chassis. Of course, there was a certain amount of know-how there. But that alone is not enough.”