Nyck de's season opener Vries it was certainly not to be framed. Zero points after five races hurt, considering the teammate Tsunoda has managed to hit the top ten twice already. These first results of 2023 have raised some doubts about the future of the Dutchman, already given as a starting point. But the last word has not yet been said.
De Vries: Your future is at risk
Last week a rumor came out about the possibility that Daniel Ricciardo, currently the third Red Bull driver, was in Faenza to test the seat on the AlphaTauri. Rumor subsequently confirmed by the same team that had already planned this activity, given that Ricciardo is also the third Alpha driver. Despite this, various rumors have arisen about the possibility of seeing Daniel Ricciardo in place of Nyck de Vries during this season.
Marko denies: "Lawson and Iwasa if de Vries were not to convince"
Over time, in reality, this news has not been confirmed, but it has not all been denied. De Vries is in fact the center of attention at home Alpha Tauri. The triptych of upcoming races, with Imola-Monaco and Barcelona, will undoubtedly be crucial for the stay of the former Formula E world champion. If he were to disappoint again, two drivers would have been thought of in Alpha: Lawson and Iwasa. This is confirmed by the consultant Helmut Marko to the microphones of Insider.com: “Nothing will happen in the next three races. We spoke to de Vries and he shares our opinion that he needs to improve. The gap from teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who is doing a great job, is too conspicuous. Nick has received the yellow card, but not the red one yet. If it improves, the driver change hypothesis will be dismissed. If we had to resort to a change during the race, we would resort to the pool of young drivers, not to Daniel Ricciardo. Liam Lawson and Ayumu Iwasa are potential candidates."
What does Ricciardo do?
Therefore, we will hardly see Daniel Ricciardo to replace de Vries during the season. From what filters in fact, it seems that the Australian is looking around and during the summer he will evaluate the various offers received outside the Formula 1 sphere. The former pilot McLaren already last season he refused several seats, such as the one offered to him by Haas, as he wanted to rely on a team that would give more guarantees to aspire to important positions in the standings. To date, however, it seems very difficult that anything can move for him, which he is seriously starting to evaluate a possible goodbye from the circus that made it great.
