Daniel Ricciardo move to replace Nyck de Vries is 'unfair' claims Mitch Evans

Nyck de Vries

De Vries dismissal to make way for Ricciardo is 'unfair' claims motorsport star

Nyck de Vries was axed to make way for Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri

Kimberley Hoefnagel

Saturday 15 July 2023 16:57 Updated: 10:54

Make us your Google favorite

Formula E star Mitch Evans feels very sorry for Nyck de Vries, who lost his seat at AlphaTauri earlier this week.

He regrets that the Dutchman has not had more time, especially since Yuki Tsunoda did have the time and space to grow in his role as a driver.

Earlier this week, AlphaTauri announced that De Vries will be replaced by Daniel Ricciardo for the upcoming race weekend in Hungary.

Article continues under video

Although the rumors had been doing the rounds for some time, the announcement came a few races earlier than initially expected. It was initially assumed that De Vries would be behind the wheel of the AT04 at least until the summer break, but he saw his dream fall apart after only ten races.

The Dutchman can count on support in the Formula E paddock. "I think the whole situation's been a little bit harsh on Nyck," Evans responded to De Vries' dismissal in an exclusive interview with GPFans.

Nyck de Vries has been forced out at AlphaTauri in his rookie season

According to the Formula E driver, it didn't help that everyone had high expectations of him due to his history in both Formula 1 and Formula E.

"He obviously went into F1 with a lot of expectation off the back of his, his history and also off the back of Monza last year. So there was a lot of expectation, going to a new team, the car’s obviously not performing overly well. And then with a day and a half of testing straight into the race, and then I think if you're a rookie in that situation, you don't really get momentum straight away, it’s very hard to catch up."

"He's gone against a teammate that's had a very difficult first year." continued the New Zealander. "I mean, I'm sorry, but if you’re anyone, you would not re-sign [Yuki] Tsunoda after the first year. But obviously he had a lot of Honda support that kept him there, and still keeps him there now."

Tsunoda was given more time to improve

Although Evans must admit that Tsunoda is doing a lot better today, he emphasises that the Japanese has also been given a few years to do this. Time that De Vries in turn did not get. "Yuki's quick, but he's had his fair share of mistakes." All in all, Evans would have liked De Vries to have just finished the season.

"We know that Nyck is a very capable driver. He's won a lot of stuff, won a lot more than Yuki. Was he given a fair chance, obviously in their eyes? Yes." Although the 29-year-old understands that the men higher up would have liked to see improvements, he does suspect that there is more to it.

"I think there's also a bigger thing in the background with Perez and everything that's going on. So it's very hard to read into the politics, without knowing all the details. But just from my limited knowledge about the situation, I think it's a little bit unfair. It's very harsh for a driver like that so early on. Um, but that's their mentality. They're renowned for it. It's not going to change. But yeah, it just would've been nice to see him do the season out and get a fair shot at it.."

Only a few races after the start of the season, there were already rumors that the Red Bull family would not be satisfied with the state of affairs.

"I've never been in that position, but it's obviously not going to help," said Evans, when asked about the impact of such a situation on a driver. "I think there are only a few drivers that will be able to rise to that situation maybe, but I don't know to the level of how severe those talks were. I can't speak for Nyck. I can't speak for obviously the guys that were in charge of him, like from the Red Bull side. But I think that early on is maybe a little bit premature. Yeah, I think maybe half the season, then I get that.

"But from what I understood, was the same after a few races they were expressing doubts. I wish him the best. I hope he gets back on his feet. Because it's a very traumatic experience, I think, to go through what he's going through. So I hope he can find himself on the grid somewhere. Whether it's in FE, WEC or whatever."