Franz Tost defiantly defends Nyck de Vries as Helmut Marko issues ‘three race ultimatum’

The Dutchman's start to life in F1 has been underwhelming

Franz Tost defiantly defends Nyck de Vries as Helmut Marko issues ‘three race ultimatum’

Franz Tost, Nyck de Vries and Helmut Marko via Irish Mirror, SI and PlanetF1

Nyck de Vries was announced as Pierre Gasly’s replacement at AlphaTauri at the start of 2023, partnering with Yuki Tsunoda. The Formula E champion impressed greatly at Monza 2022, having stepped in for Alex Albon, and scored points for Williams, prompting AlphaTauri to offer him a seat for 2023.

Things have been less than ideal for the Dutchman, however, as his start to the season has been beyond underwhelming. Things have grown so dire that Helmut Marko, chief advisor and consultant to Red Bull, has presented him with an ultimatum. He has been asked to display his mettle in the upcoming three race weekends or forfeit his seat.

In disagreement with this, AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost has defended the former F2 champion. Speaking to the media, he said, “Nyck, as I always say, if a rookie is coming to Formula One, he needs minimum three years to understand what’s going on here. It’s as I always say [it’s] the learning process and the ‘crash period’ because if the drivers don’t crash, they don’t know the limit. This is a credit you must give them, otherwise it doesn’t work.”

Tost emphasizes the importance of granting him time and highlights that even future champions like Sebastian Vettel faced challenging periods in the early stages of their careers. He believes that once de Vries perseveres through this rough patch, he can excel in F1.

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Nyck de Vries’ seat is in jeopardy amidst poor performances

Nyck de Vries' crash at Baku via SI
Nyck de Vries’ crash at Baku (Credits: SI)

De Vries has encountered difficulties in extracting the full potential of the AlphaTauri in the 2023 season. His most notable performances thus far include finishing in fourteenth place in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. They were still underwhelming but relatively incident-free.

Unfortunately, he faced retirements in both the Australian and Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and in Miami, he finished in eighteenth position after colliding with Lando Norris on lap one. Consequently, de Vries currently occupies the twentieth spot in the drivers’ standings, dead last, in the company of his fellow rookie Logan Sargeant.

His teammate Yuki Tsunoda on the contrary, has been excellent, scoring the team’s solitary point and finishing in P11, narrowly missing out on numerous occasions. He is pushing the car beyond where it currently stands, which mounts even more pressure on de Vries. Rumors have also emerged of Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson being his potential replacement.

Since the beginning of the season, the AlphaTauri drivers have been under significant pressure. Marko has been quite candid about his elevated expectations and has explicitly stated that the Italian team is falling short of meeting those expectations. De Vries will have to show his capability and his worth in the next few Grand Prix to cement his seat in Formula One.

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