Photo: Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen has just won another F1 Grand Prix this weekend, further cementing his chances of winning another World Championship this year. His seat at Red Bull Racing is secured for another five years, but not every driver on the grid can be so calm about his place in Formula One.
I've heard many rumors about a specific Scuderia AlphaTauri driver in the past months. In May, there was already talk of Daniel Ricciardo replacing Nyck de Vries following a series of poor results for the former Formula E Champion. And things haven't gotten any better for the 28-year-old Dutchman. A P9 at the Italian Grand Prix in 2022 is forgotten history, as he constantly underperformed throughout the 2023 season.
His best result this year is from Monaco, where he finished the race in P12 behind Valtteri Bottas but ahead of Yuki Tsunoda. But that has only happened once in ten races, as the Japanese driver has always been at least one step ahead of de Vries. Yuki may have only brought two points for AlphaTauri in 2023, but that's still two more than his teammate.
As of the British Grand Prix, de Vries was the last driver in the overall standings, and Scuderia AlphaTauri desperately needed a change. The news has broken out after intense speculation throughout the past few days. Daniel Ricciardo will replace Nyck de Vries starting with the Hungarian Grand Prix next week. As sad as this must be for the young Dutchman, this doesn't necessarily mean he is out of the sport for good.
Think of it this way; everyone was disappointed to hear that Daniel wouldn't drive in 2023. Then, everyone was happy that Red Bull Racing brought him aboard, even as a reserve driver. It may all have been part of Red Bull's strategy initially. Franz Tost gave Nyck de Vries a chance, but the Dutchman needed to live up to the hype.
And now, the Honey Badger is returning to fill the empty spot and hopefully secure some points for the Italian team. If they could score 10 points in the next race, that could put them seventh on the scoreboard if neither of the other three teams managed to improve their results.
And Daniel Ricciardo is the right man to change the team's current situation. After all, he had a promising end of the season last year, taking P5 in Singapore, P7 in Mexico, and P9 in Abu Dhabi. With 37 points to his name, he was 11th in the overall rankings. Meanwhile, AlphaTauri had Tsunoda in P17 and Gasly in P14.
The 34-year-old Australian has started in 232 Grand Prix, won eight of them, and secured 32 podiums in a little over a decade of racing. Let's hope he gets along with the car and can bring more excitement to the upcoming race.
His best result this year is from Monaco, where he finished the race in P12 behind Valtteri Bottas but ahead of Yuki Tsunoda. But that has only happened once in ten races, as the Japanese driver has always been at least one step ahead of de Vries. Yuki may have only brought two points for AlphaTauri in 2023, but that's still two more than his teammate.
As of the British Grand Prix, de Vries was the last driver in the overall standings, and Scuderia AlphaTauri desperately needed a change. The news has broken out after intense speculation throughout the past few days. Daniel Ricciardo will replace Nyck de Vries starting with the Hungarian Grand Prix next week. As sad as this must be for the young Dutchman, this doesn't necessarily mean he is out of the sport for good.
Think of it this way; everyone was disappointed to hear that Daniel wouldn't drive in 2023. Then, everyone was happy that Red Bull Racing brought him aboard, even as a reserve driver. It may all have been part of Red Bull's strategy initially. Franz Tost gave Nyck de Vries a chance, but the Dutchman needed to live up to the hype.
And now, the Honey Badger is returning to fill the empty spot and hopefully secure some points for the Italian team. If they could score 10 points in the next race, that could put them seventh on the scoreboard if neither of the other three teams managed to improve their results.
And Daniel Ricciardo is the right man to change the team's current situation. After all, he had a promising end of the season last year, taking P5 in Singapore, P7 in Mexico, and P9 in Abu Dhabi. With 37 points to his name, he was 11th in the overall rankings. Meanwhile, AlphaTauri had Tsunoda in P17 and Gasly in P14.
The 34-year-old Australian has started in 232 Grand Prix, won eight of them, and secured 32 podiums in a little over a decade of racing. Let's hope he gets along with the car and can bring more excitement to the upcoming race.
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