Franz Tost downplays the criticisms against Nyck de Vries, but admits that he expected more from him
After his driver Nyck de Vries was heavily criticized several times by Red Bull members, AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost comes to his defense. While also issuing a warning for the upcoming races.
The weekends follow each other and look the same for Nyck de Vries, who is always struggling and often finds himself far behind his teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Faced with these poor performances, Helmut Marko has (once again) criticized the Dutch rookie, stating that Christian Horner wasn’t a big fan of Nyck de Vries before he joined AlphaTauri… And that his current performances rather prove the Red Bull team principal right.
Overwhelmed by critics and a growing pressure on his shoulders, Nyck de Vries remains calm, at least in appearance. This is because he can rely on his boss Franz Tost to ease the situation. “I always say that today it’s really difficult for rookies when they come to Formula 1. Look at the first races: they don’t know Melbourne, Saudi Arabia, Miami, and in Baku we had the Sprint race, which means there’s only Free Practice 1 and then we go straight to qualifying. And, above all, the midfield is so tight, it’s really tough for drivers who are there for the first time and have to learn all the circuits,” he explains.
Franz Tost mentioned once again that the track temperatures are now around 44-45°C, but during the qualifying session, the drivers will have only about 35°C or maybe 30°C. It is therefore difficult to manage this difference, to prepare the front tires, the rear tires, and the brakes before qualifying, and bring them to the right temperatures, especially for those who lack experience in this area. “Once again, rookie drivers need time. If you don’t give them this time, there is no chance,” he says.
If the director of AlphaTauri seems to justify the performances of the Dutchman in this way, he nonetheless issues a thinly veiled warning against him. “Nyck is making some progress, but it takes time. We will see now how it goes here in Austria and at Silverstone, Spa – because he is familiar with these Formula 3 and Formula 2 circuits. He knows them and then we will see. I hope he improves his performances, of course we expected more, because so far he has no points,” highlights the Austrian. “Let’s see how it goes in the next races.”
The tone is set: Nyck de Vries’ performances are closely scrutinized; in the event of another mistake, it could potentially be fatal for him…
