Red Bull’s Helmut Marko rubs salt into Nyck de Vries’ wounds with verdict

Red Bull chief Helmut Marko has rubbed salt into Nyck de Vries’ wounds by congratulating Daniel Ricciardo for his first race back in F1 on Sunday. De Vries was dropped by Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri following this month’s British Grand Prix, with Ricciardo being handed the seat until the end of the season.

Ricciardo raced for Red Bull for five seasons between 2014 and 2018 before signing for Renault in 2019. He then had a two-year spell with McLaren but was dropped at the end of last year and returned to Red Bull as their reserve driver for this season.

Ricciardo has bided his time on the sidelines but was called into action by AlphaTauri ahead of Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix. The 34-year-old impressed on the track, although he saw his hopes of a top 10 finish evaporate early on after the rear of his car was shunted by Zhou Guanyu’s Alfa Romeo on the opening lap.

But following the race, Marko explained: “That was a perfect debut. Daniel would have been in the points [if it wasn’t for the accident]. It was absolutely right to sign him. He brings a positive vibe and energy.”

Ricciardo eventually finished Sunday’s race in 13th position but will be hoping to be among the points at the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend. Before his performance in Budapest, the Australian explained why he had agreed to take De Vries’ seat.

“I had enough time off to reset and enjoy it again,” he said. “I was up to speed really quick and it felt really good again, and obviously tasting the Red Bull car got me pretty excited and everything that happened the last few years and getting back into the sport, taking some time off, I knew it was going to be very hard to go back in at the top.

“Of course, that was my wish but I think also you need to be realistic at some point and say, ‘okay if I want to get back to a Red Bull seat then it is going to take a bit of a process and a path.’ This for me is the best path at the moment. Also, six months ago I wasn’t in a place to jump at an opportunity like this, but that’s been the luxury of time now. I’ve fallen in love with it again and I feel like I’m being myself again.”

Meanwhile, Red Bull boss Christian Horner has shed light on why De Vries was dropped in the first place. “It was becoming obviously a difficult situation for Nyck de Vries,” the 49-year-old told the F1 Nation podcast. “I think there was a general feeling that Nyck wasn’t quite hitting the mark.”