Nyck de Vries has opened up on how he “felt double pressure” to produce results during his short-lived stint racing in Formula 1 with Red Bull’s satellite team in 2023.
De Vries scoring points on his debut as a stand-in at Williams at Monza in 2022 persuaded Red Bull to sign him to race with the side that was known then as AlphaTauri.
The Dutchman, a title winner in Formula 2 and Formula E, was expected to become the established team leader alongside his less-experienced team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.
However, Tsunoda maintained a consistent edge over de Vries in an uncompetitive AT04 car, resulting in the latter being dropped 10 races into his rookie campaign.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has since conceded that selecting de Vries to replace the outgoing Pierre Gasly was the “biggest mistake” that he has ever made in his role.
“My biggest mistake? That was undoubtedly Nyck de Vries,” Marko told Italian outlet Autosprint. “He did very well on his debut for Williams in Monza.
“He also had an incredible CV. He was Formula 2 champion and Formula E champion.
“But for us the stopwatch said that Nyck de Vries was the wrong choice.”
De Vries endured mental battle during F1 spell
De Vries has recalled how it was a mental battle to cope with the pressure that he was receiving from both inside Red Bull and the constant media speculation on his position.
“Of course you have the media and therefore the external pressure, but you also have the internal pressure,” he divulged on the Cool Room podcast.
“Every team goes there differently. So you feel double pressure.
“Wherever you go, it always feels like they’re watching you. I wouldn’t say it feels like they’re attacking you, but you do feel that 24/7 about writing and talking about you.
“You move around in the paddock, in that ecosystem, and everyone knows about it, and you can’t run away from it. Even if you wanted to, there is no way to escape.
“I just tried to ignore it and not do much. I stopped with reading any news, but you still know a little bit that it is there.”
De Vries, who has since returned to Formula E with Mahindra, admitted that it became harder to operate at his peak level amid the unwavering questions about his future.
“From the second weekend you heard those conversations. Every time you come to the track, you have to talking about it and that didn’t help me put in my best performance.”
De Vries has ‘no resentment’ towards Red Bull
However, de Vries has insisted that he holds no grudge towards Red Bull, citing that he was fortunate to have had his foot in the door in other racing categories beforehand.
“That was challenging,” de Vries, whose spell with AlphaTauri ended without a single point, said regarding his premature F1 exit.
“I have no resentment either. I am grateful for the opportunity I was given. I have seen my childhood dream come true.
“It worked and it became a short chapter in my career. I was lucky that I already had a chance to build a career for Formula 1.
“Sometimes it happens that drivers are promoted to Formula 1, and then there is an early exit and they have nothing to fall back on.
“I had already driven in Formula E and WEC, so it made the step to those championships easier.”
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