AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost has explained the thinking that led to the “very emotional” sacking of Nyck de Vries and the re-hiring of Daniel Ricciardo.
De Vries was axed just 10 races into his rookie F1 campaign, and only 11 laps into a test outing from Ricciardo in this year’s Red Bull at Silverstone two days after the British Grand Prix earlier this month.
Many observers feel the Dutch driver’s dismissal was harsh, and that Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko could at least have waited until the summer. Sergio Perez went so far as to suggest it was “brutal”.
Tost, who has confirmed he was involved in the decision-making process, has pinpointed the main reason why the call was made to let De Vries go.
“You know, this was a very emotional decision because we have a really good relationship with Nyck,” said Tost. “I spoke with him on the telephone last week.
“He didn’t have an easy time with us. First of all, as a rookie, the first half of the season is not so easy because they are racing at many race tracks they don’t know, like Melbourne, Miami, Saudi Arabia, Baku.
“It means if a young driver comes to Formula 1 nowadays he really has to be prepared in the best possible way, which means for me, at least five-to-6,000 kilometres of testing, private testing with an old car, as Alpine did with (Oscar) Piastri. This is the way to go.
“Coming back to Nyck, it was also difficult for him because our car was not so competitive, and if a car is not so good then it’s even more complicated.
“But I expected a much better performance in Austria and Silverstone because both of these tracks Nyck knew quite well, but the performance didn’t come up, so then we decided to change him.
“Also thinking (ahead) to the second half of the season, where he doesn’t know Singapore, Japan, Mexico, Austin, and Qatar, it would not have made it easy.
“And now with Ricciardo, we have an experienced driver in the car, which also helps us to develop it, to find out better where are its deficiencies, and hopefully to improve its performance.”
Tost claims Ricciardo’s return to the AlphaTauri factory in Faenza last Friday was “a very emotional comeback” given he was last with the team a decade ago when it was formerly known as Toro Rosso before moving on to Red Bull.
“We are very happy he is back,” said Tost.
As to how much he feels Ricciardo has changed as a driver and a person, he added: “How much he has changed as a driver, I can tell you after a few grands prix.
“As a person, of course, he is now more mature, and I must say he was always a very friendly person. We had a very good relationship in the past, and I think this will also be the case now.
“He has a good character, and I’m really happy that we have him on the team.”
Alongside Yuki Tsunoda, the suggestion is a battle has now commenced between the Japanese driver and Ricciardo for a place at Red Bull in the future.
Despite the prospect of an enticing scrap, Tost remarked: “I don’t think that there will be any friction between them.
“Both of them want to be fast as the other, as usual in Formula 1, and we will see how this interesting game will end.”
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