SOCHI, RUSSIA - SEPTEMBER 28: Nyck De Vries of Netherlands and ART Grand Prix celebrates winning the F2 Championship during the feature race of the F2 Grand Prix of Russia at Sochi Autodrom on September 28, 2019 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
AlphaTauri are looking for drivers to replace Nyck de Vries – here’s everything you need to know if he is going to be fired
Dutch driver Nyck de Vries is under immense scrutiny, so much so that his future at AlphaTauri is uncertain. de Vries made his full-time debut this season but it hasn’t been the ideal year he would have hoped for.
There are strong rumours that he will be replaced in the next few weeks. Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has stated publicly that the senior management is not happy with his performance but they are willing to give the rookie few more chances to prove himself.
De Vries showed a lot of promise before making his full-time debut this season. He won the 2020–21 Formula E World Championship and the 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship, as well as the 2010 and 2011 Karting World Championships.
He was signed to the McLaren young driver programme from January 2010 until May 2019 and Audi Sport racing academy from October 2016 until August 2019. A string of consistent results in the next few seasons handed him a much-awaited F1 debut. However, he currently occupies the 19th spot with 0 points in the drivers’ standings so far this season.
Daniel Ricciardo is leading the race as AlphaTauri continues to actively look for replacements. Ricciardo lost his permanent F1 seat this year and is currently Red Bull’s third driver this season.
The veteran racing driver was earlier replaced by Oscar Piastri at McLaren before he was roped in by Red Bull as their back-up driver for the upcoming season. Ricciardo is playing the role of a deputy driver to Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez this season. However, he will certainly be open to a full-time role if offered by the AlphaTauri team.
Some of the other names who happen to be in the race are New Zealand racer Liam Lawson and Japan’s Ayumu Iwasa. Liam Lawson has been a part of the Red Bull Junior Team for quite some time now while Iwasa is the highest-ranked Red Bull junior currently on the traditional F3-F2 route into Formula 1. However, experience is one aspect where Ricciardo is ahead of both these drivers but it remains to be seen who the Alpha Tauri management eventually plans to go ahead with.
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