Yuki Tsunoda breaks silence on AlphaTauri sacking Nyck de Vries’ and depriving him of an F1 home track debut

Shortly after the British GP, Alpha Tauri made headlines by replacing Nyck de Vries with Daniel Ricciardo. De Vries was let go after just ten races due to lackluster performances. de Vries was denied the opportunity to race at his home circuit for the first time in F1. In the wake of this decision, Yuki Tsunoda has spoken out about the situation, including his thoughts on his now-former teammate.

Yuki Tsunoda, Nyck’s former teammate, spoke candidly about their time together. “I learned from him,” Tsunoda admitted, emphasizing de Vries’ valuable feedback. Nyck de Vries was signed by the Italian team just after his amazing debut at Monza last year. Despite his Formula 2 and Formula E triumphs, the Dutchman struggled to shine in F1 and lagged significantly behind Tsunoda. 

de Vries’ exit wasn’t surprising, having failed to secure any points and being outperformed by Yuki. Despite the obvious, the Japanese driver told the media that de Vries’“had the pace.” Tsunoda also expressed his grief about losing a friend, who he enjoyed spending his time and had “an enjoyable time over the past ten races”

The decision to replace him with Daniel Ricciardo was made public when the Australian wowed during the Silverstone tire test. Ricciardo was bought out of his contract by McLaren with a year remaining; he moved to Red Bull Racing as a third driver and has been stunning behind the scenes. 

Discover: AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost admits Nyck de Vries was not ready to race in F1

Yuki Tsunoda hopes for a better run at the Hungaroring with upgrades in the pipeline

“I look forward to working with Daniel,” Tsunoda expressed, acknowledging their prior Miami filming experience. With Ricciardo’s vast experience and expertise, the Honda-backed driver believes they can propel the team’s car development forward. Ricciardo’s career will come a full circle now, and he will join the same team he drove for when he joined the Red Bull family. 

As Alpha Tauri brings in fresh upgrades, Tsunoda exudes optimism for the upcoming races in Hungary. He senses a complete reset in his mindset, leaving behind the challenges faced in Silverstone. The dynamics within Alpha Tauri have taken an exciting turn with the arrival of Ricciardo. The Red Bull academy graduate’s eagerness to learn from the seasoned driver reveals a team motivated to climb the constructors’ standings.

The AT04 proves to be a wild child and very hard to tame. It had an open balance structure and struggled greatly in the high-speed corners. The team currently stands tenth and last in the standings and hopes to come back and score some valuable points at the upcoming Hungarian GP. 

In case you missed it:

•  Ex-F1 driver Nicholas Latifi drops a huge bombshell as he quits racing to pursue a MBA 
• Nico Rosberg rubs salt on Sergio Perez’s wounds as he blames Checo for Red Bull’s possible failure to set an F1 record

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