Lewis Hamilton says Nyck de Vries’ exit after 10 rounds of the 2023 Formula 1 season reflects “how Red Bull works”.
De Vries was ousted from Red Bull’s sister team, AlphaTauri, amid a difficult rookie campaign.
Daniel Ricciardo has replaced the Dutchman, who returns to the race seat after parting ways with McLaren at the end of 2022.
AlphaTauri (formally Toro Rosso) has traditionally been a landing spot for Red Bull junior drivers to make their F1 debuts.
However, de Vries was handed a 2023 seat following his impressive F1 debut at last year’s Italian Grand Prix, where he substituted for an unwell Alexander Albon at Williams.
But as he failed to match the pace of team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull opted to cut ties with the 28-year-old.
When asked if de Vries’ sacking was unfair, Hamilton replied: “Yep. That’s how Red Bull do it. I’d say that’s how Red Bull works.”
De Vries once had a close working relationship with Hamilton and Mercedes, as he was the German manufacturer’s reserve driver during the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
His replacement, Ricciardo, is set to see out the remainder of the current campaign as he targets a return to Red Bull in the future.
Following his departure from the grid last year, Hamilton says he is not surprised to see the Australian back in a race seat.
“Not really [surprised] because he [Ricciardo] has been in every drivers’ briefing this year,” Hamilton said.
“He’s in the drivers’ briefing but not actually competing. That’s very rare, you don’t often see the reserve driver in the drivers’ briefings.
“But I’m not surprised to see him back. I was definitely surprised to see the decision they took with poor Nyck.
“He’s such a talented young man and such a nice guy as well, so I think his future is still bright for him and he’ll have lots of great options, I’m sure.”
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