Will F1 Reject Return to Red Bull Family if Max Verstappen Misses Dutch GP?

Max Verstappen is eagerly looking forward to making it 3 consecutive wins at his home GP at Zandvoort this weekend. As the F1 summer break draws to a conclusion, we may have to get ready for 10 more races filled with Verstappen’s classy domination. But can the Dutch GP actually be the race where his scary streak ends?

What a difference a year can make in the life of a racing driver. Round about this time, last year, Dutch racing sensation, Nyck de Vries was on the top of the world. He was filling in for an ailing Alex Albon at the Italian GP. Having an obvious tie with Williams due to his role as a development driver for Mercedes, de Vries got the opportunity of his life: his Grand Prix debut. And what a debut it was. He dragged that Williams into the points! To top it up, no sooner were his celebrations concluded than he signed a deal with Red Bull to become a full-time F1 driver at AlphaTauri for 2023.

Can Nyck de Vries replace Max Verstappen?

Max Verstappen finds himself in an awkward position as French law enforcement is on his back for alleged traffic violations when he was enjoying his bespoke Aston Martin Valkyrie recently. Hence, if he does miss the Dutch GP, will Nyck de Vries be his replacement?

While de Vries failed to impress the top dogs at the Bulls, namely, Dr. Helmut Marko and Christian Horner, the idea isn’t too unrealistic after all. This is because rumors have been circulating that the Dutch Formula E and Formula 2 champion is being considered for a 3rd driver role at Red Bull for the 2023 Mexican GP.

So, will the team prepone his return to racing duties if needed?

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But after such an acrimonious end to his stint with the B-team, will de Vries even want to consider a return?

Will de Vries reject Red Bull’s advances?

His time within the Red Bull ecosystem would’ve been nothing short of toxic. Hence, it won’t be a far-fetched idea to assume that de Vries would actually refuse the Bulls. That being said, he is itching to get himself back into an F1 cockpit soon.

After a long silence in the aftermath of his sacking, de Vries came onto his social media to write, “I would like to thank Red Bull and Scuderia AlphaTauri for the opportunity to live my dream. Of course it hurts that the F1 chance I dreamed of for so long ended prematurely. But life is not a destination, it’s a journey, and sometimes you have to take the hard road to get where you want to be.”

Nyck de Vries is grateful for the chance he got, irrespective of the outcome. And with him wanting a 2nd shot at F1, will he accept Red Bull’s offer if Max Verstappen cannot race at the Dutch Grand Prix this weekend?

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