Nyck de Vries has been warned that he could be fired by Helmut Marko and AlphaTauri should his dismal start to the 2023 Formula 1 season continue.
The Dutchman is one of only two drivers yet to score points this season with the other being Williams' rookie Logan Sargeant, although a torrid weekend in Baku has piled more pressure onto the 28-year-old.
Now Russian driver Egor Orudzhev, who raced against De Vries in multiple series when the latter was making his way into F1, has warned him that he could be the next victim of Helmut Marko's itchy trigger finger.
De Vries' poor start to the season was compounded in Azerbaijan, where the Dutch driver suffered two shunts, the second of which saw him fail to finish the Grand Prix.
Even worse for De Vries are the performance levels of Ayumu Iwasa and Liam Lawson, both of whom are gunning to replace the Dutch driver in the event that Marko runs out of patience.
Time running out
Speaking with Russian media outlet Championat, Orudzhev said: "If it goes on like this, then I think Helmut Marko will fire him.
"Honestly, I expected that the results would be better and Nyck would be closer to (Yuki) Tsunoda.
Nyck de Vries was the only non-mechanical retirement at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
"But so far it’s been a complete failure."
De Vries only has a one-year contract with AlphaTauri and could even be replaced mid-season should his struggles continue.