Red Bull rebound option emerges for Nyck De Vries as ‘interest steps up’

Thomas Maher
Nyck de Vries frown. Azerbaijan April 2023

AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries frown. Azerbaijan April 2023

Nyck de Vries appears to have a few options on the table as he aims to bounce back from his Red Bull F1 firing.

The Dutch driver is without a racing seat after Red Bull opted against continuing with him in the AlphaTauri team after just 10 races – De Vries having struggled to get to grips with Formula 1 as Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko revealed there hadn’t been many signs of improvement during his time at the wheel.

But De Vries, as a Formula E World Champion as well as a previous Formula 2 Champion, might not be without a seat for very long, with some options already apparently on the table.

What are the potential options for Nyck de Vries?

One possibility for De Vries is to return to the team with whom he had been lined up to race in Formula E this year. Having previously raced as Venturi, De Vries was in line to join Maserati until Red Bull came calling upon him for their AlphaTauri team.

According to GPBlog, who spoke with Maserati’s James Rossiter, the British team boss spoke highly of the Dutch driver.

“I think, first and foremost, what happened to Nyck is incredibly unfortunate,” he said.

“I think not being able to showcase your talent for an entire season and, clearly he was building on his pace, everyone forgets Yuki [Tsunoda] has been there a long time and been doing a great job.

“So I feel very sorry for Nyck that he’s been kicked out where, let’s say, he was at a point where it was about to start getting good for him. Bit sad for that to be honest.”

It’s in De Vries’ history as a Formula E World Champion from three years ago that makes him a particularly interesting prospect: “Obviously, as a Formula E champion, he brings a lot of credibility and experience so he would be an exciting driver.”

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Might Nyck de Vries be in line for a Nissan seat?

Another option could be joining the Nissan Formula E entry, with team principal Tommaso Volpe telling The Race at the Rome E-Prix that there isn’t a team on the grid who wouldn’t have thought about De Vries after hearing the news.

“Everyone in Formula E has probably thought about him, from the moment he got available,” he said.

“He’s of interest as one of the drivers available for next season. He is interesting as a world champion, but I cannot confirm what we are doing.”

According to the same report, a seat may also have opened up as Norman Nato will not be retained by the squad.

Volpe also confirmed that, in principle, Nissan would still have no issue with a Formula E driver racing for another Japanese manufacturer in sportscar racing – potentially leaving the door open for De Vries to possibly take up a Toyota WEC seat alongside his Formula E duties, as the Dutch driver had had pencilled in for this year after serving as a Toyota reserve since 2020.

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