Viaplay analyst and former Formula 1 driver Christijan Albers indicates that Nyck de Vries did not allow himself to be positioned as a rookie and that this cost him his seat at AlphaTauri. According to Albers, he should have been in a different corner, but it was never due to his talent. In addition, he would give Mick Schumacher a new chance in Formula 1.
It has now been five months since De Vries’ dismissal. The 28-year-old arrived at the start of the 2023 season as a driver who would bring a lot of experience and wisdom to AlphaTauri, but performed inconsistently and could not satisfy Helmut Marko. Ahead of the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, it was announced that Daniel Ricciardo would replace him. “Apparently he didn’t have enough speed in that initial phase,” says Albers in Formula 1 Magazine’s Paddock Talk podcast. “He should have positioned himself as a rookie,” thinks the former F1 driver, who therefore believes that De Vries should not have allowed himself to be labeled as the technical leader of the driving duo.
‘If I could have advised him, he should have been in a different corner. That cost him his head. Not the talent’, Albers is certain. “Making sure you are in the right position and making the right statements, then you would have had that extra race in which that turnaround could have taken place,” the Viaplay analyst points out. ‘That has to do with the people he has around him. He probably won’t agree with me.’ After his dismissal we didn’t hear from De Vries for a while. The driver from Sneek then announced that he would study again and that he would do so at Harvard University. He later announced that he would return to Formula E.
‘Schumacher had a bad time’
When Albers is asked which driver he would give a chance in Formula 1, he does not name De Vries. “Schumacher had a very bad time in the initial phase of Haas,” says Albers. Prior to Schumacher’s season at Haas, the German was successful in Formula 2. ‘He won everything there was to win. Then people say: yes, he got the best engine. But I don’t agree with that. He did it on his own strength,” the former driver continues. ‘He showed his speed. I think Schumacher should be given a second chance.’
