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The AlphaTauri rookie addressed the media as speculation mounts regarding his position in F1
As speculation swirls regarding his spot in Formula 1, AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries conceded that he’s “made too many mistakes” during his rookie season.
Addressing the media on Thursday ahead of the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix, De Vries admitted to his poor form. “I definitely think that I personally made too many mistakes – I will admit that very openly,” said the driver when meeting with the media in Monte Carlo.
However, De Vries also believes that there are signs of progress, and potential.
“I also believe that the pace has been strong at several moments and that kind of encourages me and gives me confidence. I haven’t been able to kind of execute at the end and haven’t been able to put it together, but I do believe that the speed has been kind of there,” said the rookie driver. “Equally, I made too many mistakes to turn that into a result, but that’s part of the learning process you go through. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t. We are all human, we make mistakes and we move on.”
Another reason for hope this week for De Vries? His history in Monaco. As he noted in the team’s media preview, he has raced on the city streets before. “I’ve raced in Monaco before, in fact my first Formula 2 win came at the Sprint race there in 2017 and in 2019, I won the Feature race from pole position,” said the driver earlier this week.
However, unless he mirrors those results in F1, his status with the team will remain in doubt. Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko touched off the speculation about De Vries’ status earlier this month, opening the door to thoughts of a return to the grid for Daniel Ricciardo.
Marko closed the door on the idea of a Ricciardo return, stating that the team would look to their roster of young talent such as Liam Lawson or Ayumu Iwasa. But Marko did indicate that De Vries needs to improve over the next few races.
“Nothing will happen in the next three races,” Marko confirmed to F1-Insider.com. “We have spoken to De Vries and he is of the same opinion as we are: He has to improve. The gap to team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, who is doing a great job, is too big.”
“To use footballer’s language: Nick got the yellow card, but not the red one yet. If he improves, a change of driver will not be an issue.”
De Vries will hope that improvement starts this week on the streets of Monte Carlo.
