F1 News: Red Bull Chief Confirms Nyck De Vries Was Never A Long-Term Plan - "Always A Stopgap"
Recently, Red Bull pulled the plug on Scuderia AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries. The sudden move was a shocker for many. The former Formula 2 and Formula E Champion raced for Williams as a last-minute replacement for Alex Albon in the 2022 Italian Grand Prix before moving on to AlphaTauri in 2023.
Red Bull has been known for making sudden changes in the past. Speaking on the matter on the F1 Nation podcast, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner sheds light on how de Vries was seen as a "stopgap."
Though he didn't deny that Vries is a good driver, it is just that there was no long-term place for him at Red Bull. In addition, Horner revealed that the expectations set by de Vries were too high due to his experience. He said:
"He is very capable driver and is a former Formula E and Formula 2 champion. He has a lot of experience.
"Even though he was new to Formula 1, the expectations were very high because he was so experienced."
He also went on to mention that de Vries did not fit into the 'Red Bull ideology'. In fact, Horner had been waiting for the Pirelli tyre test to assess Daniel Ricciardo's form as a racing driver so he could replace de Vries if found fit. And that is what happened. Horner said:
"I just didn’t see how it fitted within the junior program. It was always a stopgap.
"From a Red Bull Racing perspective, the most interesting option for me was to see how Daniel [Ricciardo] performed. So that was the decision that was made. It all happened pretty quick."
Speaking of Ricciardo, the Australian racing driver will now race for AlphaTauri after a short pause in his F1 career. On the other hand, de Vries finds himself in the middle of an abrupt ending despite holding a strong CV.