Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko is brutally honest in his assessment of signing Nyck de Vries in 2023. The Austrian goes as far as to label the hiring of the Dutch driver as the ‘biggest mistake’ of his career. “When he tried to go faster, he made mistakes,” Marko reflects.
Nyck de Vries embarked on his Formula 1 adventure in 2023 full of optimism. The Dutch driver was given a chance by Red Bull’s sister team, then racing under the name AlphaTauri, but had to leave the field after the British Grand Prix. De Vries was replaced by veteran Daniel Ricciardo, following a series of disappointing results.
Biggest Mistake
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko even labels the signing of De Vries as the biggest mistake of his career. “My biggest mistake? Nyck de Vries, without a doubt,” the Austrian tells Italian Autosprint. “He had done very well in his debut for Williams at Monza, but when he came to us he did not improve. He had an impressive resume, but the stopwatch indicated that he was not fast enough. When he then tried to go faster, he made mistakes.”
De Vries achieved his best result of the season during the Monaco Grand Prix, when he crossed the finish line in twelfth place. The Dutchman ended his brief career in the premier class with zero points.
