Axe looms over F1 rookie as second warning triggers fresh Ricciardo return speculation

A rookie Formula 1 driver has been hit with another ultimatum as he fails to keep pace, opening the door for Daniel Ricciardo’s return.

Under-pressure rookie Nyck de Vries has been given another warning to lift his game as speculation swirls he could be axed from AlphaTauri before the end of the season.

De Vries, a former Formula E world champion, has so far failed to fire in his maiden full-time season in Formula 1.

He’s been outraced by Yuki Tsunoda 4-0 and beaten in all but one qualifying session, with the one-lap gap to his teammate more than 0.3 seconds.

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The Dutchman is also one of only two drivers this season yet to score a point.

Speculation had suggested that Daniel Ricciardo, who is the reserve driver for both Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri, could be called up to the Faenza team if Dr Vries were to be axed, though Kiwi Liam Lawson is considered the more likely replacement.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, part of a crucial European swing that’s been billed as decisive for De Vries’s future, Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko has reiterated that the Dutchman is on thin ice.

“To date, [De Vries] has not lived up to the expectations placed in him,” he told RacingNews365. “Of course, we talked about it openly with him and now there are routes that he knows.

“So let‘s see how he develops and then we will discuss further and possibly decide.”

Speaking at the Monaco Grand Prix for the first time since rumours surfaced about his possible early demise, De Vries said he felt secure in his seat despite admitting to a lack of performance.

Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images

“Yes, [I feel safe],” he said. “And also [the rumours are] not a shock to me; it’s normal, it’s this industry. It’s always been like that in Red Bull and in Formula 1.

“As a driver, you always kind of fight for your survival, and you always need to deliver to continue your career forward successfully.

“The beginning of the season hasn’t satisfied me personally. I also understand it hasn’t satisfied the group, because we always want to do better.

“I definitely think I’ve personally made too many mistakes, I will admit that very openly.

“I haven’t been able to execute at the end and haven’t been able to put it together.

“I do believe the speed has been there, but equally I made too many mistakes to turn that into a result. That’s kind of part of the learning process you go through — sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t.”

De Vries denied that the rumours or Marko’s ultimatum risked destabilising him, saying that he still felt he had the confidence of the team.

Ricciardo is waiting in the wings. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

“I think it’s normal to have conversations with your bosses,” he said. “We didn’t particularly speak very much in the last couple of weeks.

“But I feel very supported in my current environment. The team is behind me, and I have a good relationship with everybody.

“I definitely feel very warmly welcomed and supported in my environment. It’s not really different than previously.”

It’s unclear whether De Vries’s “yellow card”, in Marko’s language, will be reassessed after the Spanish Grand Prix, as was reportedly the plan before the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix was cancelled, reducing the Dutchman’s three-race lifeline to just two grands prix, one of which is this weekend’s unrepresentative race in Monaco.

But the time line doesn’t appear to matter to De Vries, who said he would only ever be as good as his last race.

“If you would have asked the same question after Monza, everyone would have had a very different perception,” he said, referring to his points-on-debut maiden race last season. “Now that I’ve had a bit of a more difficult start of the season, then it becomes more relevant.

“I made some mistakes, and that’s it.”

Originally published as Axe looms over F1 rookie as second warning triggers fresh Ricciardo return speculation