Antonio da Costa comes to Nyck De Vries’ defence after mid-season sacking

After an extraordinary performance at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, Nyck de Vries has failed to live up to expectations.

Antonio Felix da Costa (Image credit: Motorsport.com) and Nyck de Vries (Image credit: The Race)

Yuki Tsunoda in his third season has impressed many with his progression in terms of performances. However, the same cannot be said about his teammate Nyck de Vries. With a string of poor form by the Dutchman many have questioned his AlphaTauri seat. With Daniel Ricciardo too out of a drive, rumors are now emerging that the Australian driver might replace De Vries.

However, Formula E champion Antonia Felix da Costa extended his full support to fellow driver Nyck de Vries. In a Tweet posted by the Portuguese driver, he mentioned how tough it is to familiarize yourself with F1 machinery, with very little testing. He also said that in terms of performance De Vries is progressively getting closer to teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

“Can only imagine how hard it must be to quickly get used to an F1, perform with only a couple days testing. Nyck is getting closer to Tsunoda every weekend, who, let’s not forget, had to have a couple of bad days himself to get to this level.” Da Costa’s Tweet read.

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Antonio himself was a part of Helmut Marko’s Red Bull junior academy. However, to his misfortune, Da Costa did not have an opportunity to make an appearance in Formula One. Although, he did serve as Red Bull racings test driver from 2012-2015.

Also read: “Get Perez out of that seat”- Daniel Ricciardo’s Pirelli test with Red Bull ignites rumors of F1 return, Twitter reacts

When will Daniel Ricciardo make the switch to AlphaTauri?

Red Bull third driver Daniel Ricciardo (Image credit: Sky Sports)

Several question marks are raised when it comes to Nyck de Vries’ future in F1 and with AlphaTauri. Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko recently stated that Team boss Christian Horner was not on board with the Dutchman’s recruitment to the Faenza-based team. Daniel Ricciardo’s name is doing the rounds to replace the struggling Nyck de Vries.

Sergio Perez’s contract terminates at the end of 2024, Red Bull may look at Ricciardo as a replacement. However, before allotting him that seat in Red Bull’s sister team they might want to test his performance since McLaren ended his contract early and sacked him at the end of 2022.

Haven’t publicly spoken about this. Can only imagine how hard it must be to quickly get used to an F1, perform with only a couple days testing. Nyck is getting closer to Tsunoda every weekend, who, let’s not forget, had to have a couple of bad days himself to get to this level https://t.co/KvuwfOqRKr
— Antonio Felix da Costa (@afelixdacosta) July 11, 2023

Many speculated the big change between Daniel Ricciardo and Nyck de Vries will take place after the summer break. However, if rumors hold any truth the switch could be seen as soon as the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix. Given his stellar career in other series’ Liam Lawson too had a good shot to replace De Vries.