“They Have the Right to Fire You”: Ex-Red Bull Prodigy Lashes Out at Nyck de Vries’ Dismal Showing to Side With Old Employers

It has been a tough couple of weeks for Nyck de Vries. The Red Bull management has even received a lot of backlash for showing him the door. Big names like Sebastian Vettel and other former F1 drivers sympathized with de Vries too. But you have to wonder, was Red Bull right in making this harsh decision? According to former a Red Bull prodigy, the decision might have been harsh but correct.

de Vries is a former Formula E champion. And he showed his potential to F1 employers in 2022 when he replaced Alex Albon in the Williams and secured P9 in Monza. But no sooner did he get a permanent seat in AphaTauri than he started faltering. Having driven 10 races for AlphaTauri this year, he couldn’t manage to score a single point. And that is the reason for his ousting, believes former Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari.

Alguersuari said, as quoted by f1maximaal, “You have to see improvement. If there isn’t one, they have the right to fire you. He (De Vries) had few races to show his potential and I’m sure there was more in the barrel for Nyck, but if there’s no upward trend between his first and last race, then they have the right to say goodbye to him.”

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For the Dutch racer, the decision is harsh and unexpected. But Alguersuari’s comments line up with what Horner had to say about the decision.

Christian Horner Justifies Bitter Sacking of AlphaTauri Rookie Nyck de Vries

Red Bull usually doesn’t need to give reasons for laying off underperforming drivers mid-season. Now, it has become a part of their work culture and that is what one expects from them. Yet, RB Team Principal Christian Horner has given his reasons for sacking Nyck de Vries. And the gist of it remains the same – de Vries did not perform up to their expectations.

On the F1 Nation podcast, Horner said, “It was becoming obviously a difficult situation for Nyck de Vries. But there was a high expectation on him because, whilst inexperienced in Formula 1, he’s obviously a very experienced driver. I think there was a general feeling that Nyck wasn’t quite hitting the mark.”

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How de Vries’ replacement, Daniel Ricciardo, performs for the rest of this season should tell everybody if Red Bull took the right decision or not. But for now, it’s curtains for him in F1.