Nyck de Vries has lost his Formula 1 seat with AlphaTauri after just 10 grands prix.
His replacement is Daniel Ricciardo, who will return to the F1 grid at the Hungarian Grand Prix next week. AlphaTauri confirmed Ricciardo is “on loan” from Red Bull.
Ricciardo has been serving as Red Bull and AlphaTauri’s reserve driver this year after he was released from a three-year contract with McLaren a year early. He was in action at Silverstone today driving Red Bull’s 2023 car in a Pirelli tyre test.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said Ricciardo “hasn’t lost any form while away from racing” and has been making “strides” in his simulator sessions for the team. “His times during the tyre test were extremely competitive. It was a very impressive drive and we are excited to see what the rest of the season brings for Daniel on loan at Scuderia AlphaTauri.”
AlphaTauri chose to sign Ricciardo as de Vries’ replacement over fellow reserve driver Liam Lawson, who contested two practice sessions with AlphaTauri last year and has more recent race experience as he is currently second in Japan’s top-level single-seater championship Super Formula.
Ricciardo previously drove for his latest team in 2012 and 2013, when it was called Toro Rosso. “I’m very pleased to welcome Daniel back into the team,” said AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost.
“There’s no doubt about his driving skill, and he already knows many of us, so his integration will be easy and straightforward. The team will also profit a lot from his experience, as he is an eight-time Formula 1 grand prix winner.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Tost added: “I would like to thank Nyck for his valuable contribution during his time with Scuderia AlphaTauri, and I wish him all the best for the future.”
De Vries made his debut last year with Williams in a one-off appearance at the Italian Grand Prix. Substituting for Alexander Albon , De Vries starred by starting eighth and finishing ninth.
Less than a month later he was signed by AlphaTauri for 2023, but his time at the team proved challenging. Starting and finishing 12th at the Monaco Grand Prix has been the highlight of de Vries’ season so far.
He has failed to score so far this year – though team mate Yuki Tsunoda has taken just two points – and is last in the standings. De Vries was slowest in qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix, and was the lowest-placed finisher at the Canadian and British grands prix.
De Vries was picked up by AlphaTauri after he impressed at Monza. He started that weekend driving for Aston Martin in practice, having done the same for Williams and Mercedes earlier in the year. He drove for five teams in total in 2022, including Aston Martin in practice at Monza, as Alpine called upon de Vries for a private test and he joined AlphaTauri for the post-season event for junior drivers.
However de Vries’ longest-lasting F1 relationship is with McLaren, who signed him as a junior while he was in karting and backed him all the way up to Formula 2 over a period of eight years. In that time, de Vries became World Karting Champion, Formula Renault Eurocup champion and a race-winner in GP3, FR3.5 and Formula 2.
He was also backed by Audi for a time, and served as its reserve driver in Formula E.
It was only once de Vries split with McLaren that he showed his best form, winning the 2019 F2 title and then stepping into a FE seat with Mercedes. He became the series’ first world champion in 2021.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
