AlphaTauri engineer defends Nyck de Vries’ poor performance, says the AT04 is ‘not an easy car to adapt to’ for rookies

Nyck de Vries is one of two drivers to score zero points so far in 2023.

Nyck de Vries (Credits: Car and Driver)

Dutch rookie Nyck de Vries had an impressive performance as a reserve driver in 2022, pushing a backmarker Williams car to score points at Monza. This caught the attention of Red Bull, leading to his eventual signing with AlphaTauri. However, his performance at AlphaTauri has been mediocre so far, as he struggles week-in, week-out to put in decent drives.

The trackside engineering head from AlphaTauri, Jonathan Eddolls stated in an interview with Autosport that the team’s car has struggled with rear-end entry stability, which has been a significant weakness. This issue could have particularly affected Nyck de Vries, as it did preceding F1 newcomers, as they had to contend with adaptation struggles. It has led to a difficulty in finding him an optimal setup.

“It’s not been an easy car for a rookie to get used to. Some drivers find it harder to adapt to one with entry instability than others. I wouldn’t say Nyck is someone who particularly struggles with that, but for sure to try to get a set-up that suits him has been a little bit more challenging with some of those issues,” said Jonathan Eddolls.

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AlphaTauri debuted a new rear wing in Austria for their AT04. Jonathan Eddolls confirmed that further updates are being developed for the upcoming race at Silverstone, specifically targeting rear stability, improving drivability for their struggling driver lineup.

Nyck de Vries’ inconsistency continued at Austria, with another poor result

AlphaTauri has encountered challenges with their subpar machinery throughout the season. During the early stages of the season, Nyck de Vries has struggled to meet expectations and has underperformed, leading to concerns about his future with the team. Reports suggested that de Vries had been given an ultimatum to either improve his performance or risk being replaced by a Red Bull junior driver.

Despite demonstrating some improvement in his performance with a P12 finish in Monaco and a P14 finish in Spain, the AlphaTauri rookie has faced difficulties in subsequent races. In Montreal, he finished dead last, and in Austria, he secured a paltry P17 finish. Moreover, de Vries has been consistently outperformed by his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda. These struggles have led to continued uncertainty surrounding de Vries’ position within the team, raising doubts about his future with AlphaTauri.

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Red Bull is notorious for having a ruthless approach to their driver lineups and having little patience for underperformance. If Nyck de Vries continues to struggle and deliver poor results, there is a high possibility that he may lose his seat at AlphaTauri, even during his rookie season, despite his previous achievements as a former F2 and Formula E champion.

It is crucial for de Vries to start producing better results, including outperforming his teammate, in order to secure his position within the team and demonstrate his potential in Formula 1.