Red Bull’s decision to replace Nyck de Vries in the AlphaTauri line-up has caused a stir, bringing to light the Dutch driver’s past comments regarding Lando Norris and Alex Albon.
Following a challenging start to his rookie Formula 1 campaign, Red Bull deemed that 10 races were sufficient to warrant a change at AlphaTauri.
Consequently, de Vries was dropped from the line-up, with Daniel Ricciardo taking his place after impressing the team during the Silverstone Pirelli tire test.
Understandably, Red Bull’s significant decision has sparked discussions among Formula 1 enthusiasts.
Want to work in Formula 1? Browse the latest F1 job vacancies
Unfortunately for de Vries, this attention has led to the resurfacing of his previous comments, where he claimed that Norris and Albon were no better than him during their Formula 2 days.
The timing of these remarks is particularly awkward as both Norris and Albon had exceptional performances at Silverstone.
Norris secured a second-place finish, propelling McLaren to the position of “best of the rest” behind Red Bull, while Albon earned an additional four points for himself and Williams with an eighth-place finish.
In an interview with Dutch newspaper Friesch Dagblad before his Formula 2 title-winning campaign in 2019, de Vries shared his thoughts on Norris and Albon, with whom he had competed in the previous season.
He stated, “I do not want to be arrogant at all, but Norris and Albon were in my eyes really no better than me.
“Norris won only one race, Albon won four, and I won three.”
Unfortunately, de Vries’ full-time Formula 1 career did not live up to expectations, with his standout moment being a ninth-place finish during a stand-in appearance for Williams at Monza in 2022.
However, looking at de Vries’ overall career, it becomes evident that he remains a highly capable racing driver.
READ: George Russell makes bold claim about Lewis Hamilton and all F1 drivers
As a former Formula 2 champion and Formula E World Champion, he has achieved milestones that only a skilled driver can accomplish.
Additionally, de Vries has multiple class wins in endurance racing to his name.
Although Formula 1 did not yield the desired results for de Vries, at just 28 years old, time will tell whether the Dutchman moves to another category of motorsport or even another team on the grid.