Formula One 2023: Driver dumped for Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri has broken silence about F1 exit

The sacked driver replaced by Daniel Ricciardo has broken his silence ahead of the Australian’s comeback to the F1 grid at the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend.

NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 09: Nyck de Vries of Scuderia AlphaTauri and The Netherlands during the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone Circuit on July 09, 2023 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images)

The driver dumped to make way for Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula One return at AlphaTauri has broken his silence, saying it “hurts” the F1 opportunity he had dreamt of for so long ended prematurely.

On the eve of Ricciardo’s highly-anticipated comeback to the F1 grid at this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Dutchman Nyck de Vries spoke out for the first time since it was announced last week he would be replaced by the Australian star.

Red Bull is loaning Ricciardo from his 2023 role as the team’s third driver to sister team AlphaTauri for the remainder of the season, ending his six-month absence from the grid.

De Vries was discarded after failing to score a point in the opening 10 races this season after making his full-time F1 debut with AlphaTauri at the start of the year.

Nyck de Vries prior to the British GP. Picture: Peter Fox/Getty Images

The 28-year-old said he was hurting after his chance at F1 was crushed, but thanked Red Bull and AlphaTauri for his chance in F1.

“A short note from me …. after recent events, I decided to take some time for myself away from social media, which I will continue to do,” De Vries wrote on Instagram.

“I would like to thank Red Bull and Scuderia AlphaTauri for the opportunity to live my dream.

“Of course it hurts that the F1 chance I dreamt of for so long ended prematurely.

“But life is not a destination, it’s a journey, and sometimes you have to take the hard road to get where you want to be.

“I am grateful for our privileged lives, proud of our journey and my family. This is just another experience, we move on and look forward to the next chapter.

“Thank you to everyone for your kind and encouraging messages in the past week. It’s been heartwarming to feel your support.”

De Vries then added:

“I received some interesting articles about things I’ve said in the last week. For clarity, I haven’t spoken to any media and for the time being I’ll enjoy some me time. Wishing you all a nice summer.”

The Dutch driver had earned his opportunity in F1 after impressing as a stand-in for Williams at last year’s Italian Grand Prix when he scored points on his race debut after finishing ninth.

But De Vries was one of only two drivers – the other being Williams rookie Logan Sargeant – not to have scored a point this year.

Red Bull made the call on De Vries after Ricciardo’s “extremely competitive” lap times at last week’s Pirelli tyre test in the title-leading RB19 at Silverstone last week.

Team boss Christian Horner said the decision to move De Vries had happened quickly, but said he had not been “hitting the mark”.

“It was becoming obviously a difficult situation for Nyck de Vries,” Horner said on the F1 nation podcast.

“But there was a high expectation on him because, whilst inexperienced in Formula 1, he’s obviously a very experienced driver.

Daniel Ricciardo will race for AlphaTauri at the Hungarian GP this weekend. Picture: Gongora/NurPhoto via Getty Images

“I think there was a general feeling that Nyck wasn’t quite hitting the mark and then the question was, what are the options if we were to switch things around.

“And from a Red Bull perspective, the most interesting option for me was to see how Daniel performs. So that was the decision that was made. It all happened pretty quick.”

Ricciardo will step in alongside Yuki Tsunoda at the Hungaroring with F1 expert Martin Brundle warning last week the eight-time Grand Prix winner needed to beat his new teammate if he is to revive his F1 career.

The Australian has acknowledged the challenge he will face in the struggling AlphaTauri car, which has been described as the “slowest” on the F1 grid.