Philippe Alliot: “At no point was I surprised by a move from Nyck de Vries.”
Former driver Philippe Alliot explained in an interview with AutoHebdo that the decision of Red Bull's parent company to part ways with AlphaTauri rookie Nyck de Vries was justified given the lack of competition he brought to his teammate.
Dismissed by his AlphaTauri team following the Hungarian Grand Prix, Nyck de Vries has had a more than difficult first season in Formula 1. While some have judged this dismissal as harsh, the facts are there: the 2019 F2 champion hasn’t scored any points this season and his best result is a 12th place finish in Monaco.
Certainly, behind the wheel of the least performing car in the paddock in 2023, the Dutch driver did not satisfy his team leaders, including Helmut Marko, who justified this choice by saying that he expected him to at least be on par with his teammate. He was consistently three tenths slower.
In an interview for AutoHebdo, former F1 driver Philippe Alliot expressed his feelings about this dismissal after only 10 Grand Prix. For the man with 109 GPs, the choice of AlphaTauri is justified. « Throughout this 2023 campaign, I was never surprised by a lap from the Dutch driver, Alliot said.
Nyck de Vries couldn’t defeat his first opponent, Yuki Tsunoda
Also, the 69-year-old Frenchman insists on the importance of competing with his teammate, something that Nyck de Vries has struggled to do. As a reminder, he only beat Yuki Tsunoda twice. In Monaco, where the Japanese driver finished 15th, three places behind the Dutchman, and in the Canadian Grand Prix, where he finished two places ahead, but in the lower part of the standings (17th compared to 19th).
« To judge a rookie, we compare them to their teammate. That’s the first opponent they have to beat. They don’t necessarily have to surpass them in racing right from the start, but at least hold their own in a flying lap », explains Alliot, before adding that the 28-year-old driver « has never really outperformed Yuki Tsunoda in qualifying ».
Indeed, Nyck de Vries’ average qualifying position this season is 17th. Yuki Tsunoda, on the other hand, is 14th in the GPs they have both competed in. « In order to stay in F1, it is crucial for a driver to tick that box. […] Otherwise, keeping him is just a waste of time », harshly concluded the former Larrousse driver.
