Red Bull Fires Warning To Yuki Tsunoda And Nyck de Vries For Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Helmut Marko has said Nyck de Vries needs to "step up a gear".

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has fired a warning to AlphaTauri drivers Nyck de Vries and Yuki Tsunoda, saying that the former needs to "step up a gear".

Despite catching Red Bull's eye with his impressive stand-in performance for Alex Albon at Williams in 2022, de Vries was one of three Formula 1 rookies who took to the grid at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix in 2023.

Both AlphaTauri drivers, de Vries and Tsunoda, are under pressure this year. In Bahrain, Tsunoda outperformed de Vries, comfortably outqualifying him before finishing in the 11th position, narrowly missing out on a point. Although de Vries made a commendable effort, going from P19 to P14, Marko has reviewed the data and expects more from the Dutchman going forward.

Marko is happy with de Vries' opening effort, but he believes that he can take his performance to the next level. It is essential for de Vries to demonstrate his potential and establish himself as a competent F1 driver.

During an interview with Motorsport.com in Germany, Marko explained:

“Nyck has a wealth of experience, even though he is still officially a rookie.

“He was closely involved with Mercedes, driving as a third driver or reserve driver in almost all their F1 cars and those of the customer teams. He has vast knowledge, but this is AlphaTauri and not Mercedes. In terms of budget and manpower, it is not comparable.

“There were definitely positive things, but by now he also realises that this is a different team. The idea now is for him to focus on his own performance.

“In sectors one and three he drove similar to Yuki, but in sector two he lost too much, also in the race. He needs to step up a gear.”

He added:

“It applies to both AlphaTauri drivers that they have to prove they belong in F1.

“The best one probably also has the greatest chance of staying in F1, that goes for both Yuki and De Vries.

“But please, only one race has been driven yet. We shouldn’t want to know everything already for the future either.

“Give him [De Vries] a chance. His way of working is fine, as is his approach. But what I said: he has to start delivering now.

“Staying in Formula 1 is the starting point first. To become a candidate for Red Bull, there really has to be an extraordinary performance.”

There has been a lot of speculation over whether de Vries will be able to significantly outperform Tsunoda and be promoted to Red Bull, especially after his outstanding race stepping in for Albon. However, with Marko's warning it could easily go the other way. 

Marko will be looking out for improved performance during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this coming weekend.