Nyck de Vries finds himself under immense pressure following a lackluster start to the 2023 Formula 1 season, which has raised doubts about his long-term future in the sport. The situation has become more than mere speculation, as Helmut Marko directly addressed the rumors of a potential exit for de Vries.
As a senior advisor at Red Bull, Marko dismissed suggestions that Daniel Ricciardo was being considered as a replacement. Instead, he hinted that if Red Bull were to make a change, they would likely turn to one of their junior drivers. However, Marko did issue an ultimatum to de Vries, stating that the Dutch driver needed to show significant improvement by the end of the Spanish Grand Prix or face being replaced.
Although it remains unknown whether the ultimatum was extended due to the cancellation of the Imola race, de Vries has shown slight improvement in recent races. He finished 12th in Monaco and 14th in Spain. However, even with this modest upturn, de Vries has yet to outperform his teammate Yuki Tsunoda. As a result, there are doubts about whether de Vries has done enough to secure his position.
Speaking on the Formule 1 podcast, racing driver Jeroen Bleekemolen expressed his opinion that de Vries is still struggling to prove himself. Despite showing signs of progress, including a solid qualifying performance and a decent result in the Spanish Grand Prix, de Vries still has a long way to go, according to Bleekemolen.
“He’s still having a hard time,” Bleekemolen commented. “It is true that he had a normal weekend in Barcelona. He had a pretty good qualifying and a decent result in the race. But he really needs to have a top weekend now to be able to turn it around. You can see that things are slowly getting better, but in motorsport, you prefer not to use the word ‘slowly.'”
Although de Vries has bought himself some additional time with his recent performances, he must continue to show significant improvement in order to secure his place in the team. The pressure is on for de Vries to deliver exceptional results and demonstrate that he is capable of competing at the highest level of Formula 1.
