Helmut Marko thinking of AXING driver already – He'll be another in Red Bull's graveyard

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Marko thinking of AXING driver already – He'll be another in Red Bull's graveyard

The Red Bull boss is reportedly ready to axe one of his drivers if they don't find form

Joe Ellis

Friday 12 May 2023 13:27 Updated: 14:12

Helmut Marko is famously short in his patience with Red Bull drivers, whether they are in the main team or the AlphaTauri squad.

And it seems like the Austrian's fingers once again hovering over the trigger and pointing at the sister team.

According to information gathered by Motorsport.com, Nyck de Vries' position with the team is already under serious threat.

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The Dutchman has not scored a single point so far this season while his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda has finished either 11th or 10th in all five races, far clear of De Vries.

If he is unable to improve in the next handful of races, Marko could even put Red Bull reserve driver Daniel Ricciardo into his seat for the remainder of the season.

Nyck de Vries made another costly error in Miami, crashing into Lando Norris at Turn 1

Not the first

As mentioned, Red Bull have axed drivers before due to poor performances or the simple fact of someone better being available so De Vries won't be the first to go.

Poor Daniil Kvyat may be the unluckiest of the lot having been demoted from Red Bull to Toro Rosso to make way for Max Verstappen in 2016 and then dropped entirely at the end of 2017.

The team then became AlphaTauri in September 2019, with the Russian back in the team, only for him to be dropped in favour of Tsunoda for the 2021 campaign.

Jaime Alguersuari, Sebastien Buemi and Jean-Eric Vergne were all axed without making the main team.

Others such as Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz had to leave Red Bull on their own accord to find other opportunities in F1.

Who could replace De Vries?

Ricciardo appears to be the front-runner for the role should De Vries be let go mid-season but there are six Red Bull juniors in Formula 2, trying to break down the door.

Ayumu Iwasa has been mightily impressive in F2 since his debut in 2022

Ayumu Iwasa is currently best-placed of the half-dozen in third in the standings, three places clear of 2021 Formula 3 champion Dennis Hauger.

Enzo Fittipaldi, the grandson of two-time F1 world champion Emerson, is 10th ahead of the best of the Red Bull rookies, Zane Maloney.

Isack Hadjar is 14th with Jak Crawford 17th, both of whom are also in their debut years in F2.

Luckily for De Vries, none of these are considered 'the next Verstappen' which might mean Red Bull aren't going to be as desperate to get them into F1.

Where next if he leaves F1?

If Marko's finger does pull the metaphorical trigger, De Vries would have to once again try to find a new series to race in.

He has already secured a Formula E title with Mercedes in 2021 and could well head back to the electric series, even though the Silver Arrows have pulled out.

Perhaps more likely, though, is a move to the World Endurance Championship, with the Hypercar regulations attracting huge numbers of entrants and manufacturers.

He has already raced in the endurance world in LMP2 cars and the step up to Hypercars would be a simple one for such a talented, adaptable driver.