So apparently Ralph Schumacher let out that he knows for certain that Danny is replacing Nyck after the summer break. I found it in a Dutch article, so a url is not much use I think.
Obviously, this is still very much rumours at this point, but I wanted to post about it anyways.
I know Nyck is underperforming massively, and have no illusion that he will be driving next year. But replacing a driver mid-season is always a bit harsh. Especially when his home-race is the next one on the calendar…
Here’s an article in german: https://f1-insider.com/formel-1-ricciardo-de-vries-ersatz-57875/
Translation:
Max Verstappen’s buddy Nyck de Vries can’t get up to speed. His F1 days could already be numbered during the summer break.
He was considered the discovery of last season: Nyck de Vries came to AlphaTauri with much praise after finishing ninth in his spontaneous stint as Alexander Albon’s Williams replacement in Monza in 2022. As a friend of world champion Max Verstappen, the Dutch Formula E world champion outperformed Liam Lawson and also Mick Schumacher, among others.
But the Dutchman has so far failed to live up to the high expectations. Twelfth place in Monaco is his best result to date. Most recently, at Silverstone, he was only 17th again. One thing is certain: De Vries is coming under increasing pressure at AlphaTauri.
One indication: On Tuesday, Red Bull’s replacement driver Daniel Ricciardo - long considered a possible successor to Nyck de Vries - will complete tire tests. “And then we’ll see,” comments Helmut Marko on Sky. Asked about a possible comeback for the former Red Bull star, the Red Bull motorsport consultant just grins: “We’ll look at the tire tests and then we can talk.”
What Marko doesn’t want to openly admit is that behind the scenes, planning is said to be much further along. F1-Insider.com learned: Ricciardo is to replace De Vries after the summer break. In the second half of the season, the focus will then be on comparing Red Bull junior Yuki Tsunoda with Ricciardo, the former Vettel conqueror.
Sky pundit Ralf Schumacher also believes: “The decision has been made, I’m pretty sure of that.” The former GP winner continues: "He (de Vries; ed.) had his highlight last year in Monza and was in the right place at the right time. It’s a shame for him that he probably won’t be able to drive Zandvoort - I’d guess - but also good for Daniel Ricciardo and for the team.AlphaTauri is really bad on the road and could use some experience."Statements made by Helmut Marko to F1 Insider already on the sidelines of the Austrian GP fit in with this.That’s when the man from Graz reacted happily to Ricciardo’s positive development.“We didn’t recognize him when he came back to us from McLaren,” Marko said."But we have nurtured him back and in the simulator he is now doing a good job."Indirectly, De Vries’ retirement could also have consequences for Sergio Perez.Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull keeps falling far behind in the duel with the double world champion, even missing out on the second qualifying section at Silverstone.
“His place is not in danger,” Marko repeats prayerfully again after the Mexican’s drive from 15th to sixth place in England. But at the same time he stresses, “A replacement does not impose itself.”
It’s quite possible that he will see things differently at the end of the year…
Hero <3
This rumour is in complete opposition to the one posted recently that said “Ricciardo was too slow in the simulator for the Red Bull car and would prefer not to enter half way through a season and play catch up getting to grips with the Alpha Tauri”
Silly season is almost upon us!
Also just to remember everyone saying de Vries isn’t fast enough - Gasly in Red Bull and Albon in Red Bull were both deemed too slow, but have performed well since.
Yeah I don’t put much stock into this rumor of Ricciardo coming back to alpha tauri
but Riccardo being slow was rumored earlier in the season and since they say he’s majorly improved
https://the-race.com/formula-1/ricciardo-extremely-competitive-on-sim-ahead-of-red-bull-test/
Well, it seems this one was true
Absolutely nuts even for redbull 🤣
So Danny into Alpha Tauri mid season and then its a competition between him and Yuki for who gets Perez’s seat in ‘24 if he keeps disappointing in quali? If the midfield keep improving race pace as well as quali performance (like a few teams have) they wont tolerate pre-Q3 exits relying on a good Sunday for long
Perez has long been a shit box-midfield specialist, putting him in a top car certainly exposed his weaknesses. It’s clear they got him to be a rear gunner like Bottas was at merc, but Perez hasn’t lived up to the job.
Bottas got a lot of shit but he was almost always up there with Lewis on quali pace (or beat him) and then delivered on Sunday with good pace to put it on the podium. Did struggle to recover on Sunday through DRS trains though if he had quali issues but you could probably put some of that blame on the old cars
Bottas was treated way too unfairly by the fans imo. He was consistent as fuck, and played a crucial role in Merc’s winning years.
Bottas was never too good at wheel to wheel racing and charging through the pack, but his quali performances meant he didn’t have to. That 100+ Q3 streak is amazing.
Who the heck watches F1 for the qualy sessions? Perez is still second in the championship, and he’s made the races fun to watch. How has he not live up to the job?
I’ll take Perez coming down the field 100% of the time over a boring HAM-VER-BOT that was decided on Saturday. What a waste of a weekend.
Who the heck watches F1 for the qualy sessions?
Me, they’re usually far more interesting than the races.
Red Bull has very little incentive to care about how entertaining a race is though, they just want the most points with the least drama.
This is what it’s smelling like for sure, though it doesn’t have to be just Yuki. Now that they have sim data on Ricciardo, comparing him with Yuki at the end of the season will help them get a handle of both, to see if they need to look elsewhere even.
I can’t believe even Marko got fooled by Nyck in Monza. Williams have been building low downforce dragsters for years and while NdV didn’t do any mistakes that day Monza in the dry is not exactly Monaco quali in terms of testing the driver. It’s mostly about the car. Even Latifi said afterwards that it was more a case of himself underperforming than Nyck being spectacular, and that Nyck just put the car where it belonged that day.
Turns out he wasn’t trying to make himself look better, he was just stating a fact.
I’m sure the Drive to Survive team would love to have Danny back.
If that does happen I’m curious to see how good Ricardo will be now.
Hulk looks decent for having taken a few years off with only a few 1-off appearances in between. It’s only been 9 months or so for Danny and he’s probably done some significant sim work during that period for RB.
I’m optimistic. Maybe this time off is the reset he needed to get his form back.
De Vries has been such a disappointment. The way he fucked with Magnussen at Montreal, his inability to make anything out of the car he has, and his complete lack of spatial awareness has completely soured me on the boy. I had high hopes. He really shat the bed.
