Ricciado replaces Nick De Vriies

The Honey Badger is back with his endearing grin. He must have impressed greatly ij the Pirelli tire test to oust Nick. Probably not enough to out Perez. But Perez has a target on his back for 2024. Alpha Tauri is a dog of a car. It could be a risk for Ricciardo.

The F1.5 championship just got another shuffle as Mclaren replaces Alpine in the fight for the 2nd top spot. But can they keep it up. We have seen Aston Martin fade backward in the last few races. Will Mclaren keep up on tyre-sensitive tracks? I hope they do as this is a great story isn't it?

That went from rumor to reality fairly quickly!

I'd have to bet that Nyck wishes he took his offer at Williams now, but easy to say in hindsight. I can't blame any driver for wanting to get into the RB fold early in their career, but as with most good things it comes with risk. In this case the risk is flying too close to the sun, and once that happens things change in a hurry. Being that he was struggling to match Yuki, it became clear pretty quick that they would have an eye on him, and in the end it didn't work out. I hope he lands on his feet, though I doubt it will be in F1 any time soon.

As for RB ruthless and practical both. Now they have a benchmark to measure Daniel by, and see if he has in fact got his mojo back. He should be able to easily best Yuki and at the same time maybe help develop the car. In addition to the development help, it puts pressure on both Yuki and more importantly Sergio to get their respective acts together and drive hard to retain their seats.


I'm real interested to see how this goes down myself. Though Lando schooled him at McLaren, I do think that they had a car that was very abnormal in handling characteristics. It might have been much harder for Ric to "unlearn" things then it was for Lando to adapt to a poor car. Either way, we might find out finally. The AT doesn't seem to be much for a car, but if Daniel is back on form he should be able to at least get it in the points here and there.

It's F1, and silly season is all year, for all teams, and rarely ends up the way most of us expect.

That car is a dog and I do not have hope that Ricciardo is going to drag it into the points.

I didn't really understand the Nick DeVries move by Red Bull to bring him in. He is not that young. I would have went with Schumacher.

I read somewhere that in the tire test he had put up really good time (in a Red Bull). Maybe this move is meant to give them a better measure of where Yuki is.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by airshifter

That went from rumor to reality fairly quickly!

I'd have to bet that Nyck wishes he took his offer at Williams now, but easy to say in hindsight. I can't blame any driver for wanting to get into the RB fold early in their career, but as with most good things it comes with risk. In this case the risk is flying too close to the sun, and once that happens things change in a hurry. Being that he was struggling to match Yuki, it became clear pretty quick that they would have an eye on him, and in the end it didn't work out. I hope he lands on his feet, though I doubt it will be in F1 any time soon.

As for RB ruthless and practical both. Now they have a benchmark to measure Daniel by, and see if he has in fact got his mojo back. He should be able to easily best Yuki and at the same time maybe help develop the car. In addition to the development help, it puts pressure on both Yuki and more importantly Sergio to get their respective acts together and drive hard to retain their seats.


I'm real interested to see how this goes down myself. Though Lando schooled him at McLaren, I do think that they had a car that was very abnormal in handling characteristics. It might have been much harder for Ric to "unlearn" things then it was for Lando to adapt to a poor car. Either way, we might find out finally. The AT doesn't seem to be much for a car, but if Daniel is back on form he should be able to at least get it in the points here and there.

It's F1, and silly season is all year, for all teams, and rarely ends up the way most of us expect.

---

The Alpha Tauri is probably just as bad as the Mclaren he walked away from, or should l dumped. It is also a very different car from the Redbull that he drove at the tire test. It is a big risk for Ricciardo. As he would be slower than Yuki initially as he learns the characteristics of the car. So initially, he may not do any better than Nick De Vries. It comes down to how quickly he can get up to pace with Yuki. Then it would be a matter of whether he can dominate his young teammate with his experience and skill.

It could backfire big time if Yukii makes a step up in the interim such that Ricciardo is beaten every race weekend for the remainder of the season. Ricciardo has gambled his reputation by taking this deal. Hence he may not recover if Yuki makes him look ordinary.

Yuki on the other hand, seems to be improving considerably every race weekend. In that car, he cannot shine as he is fighting at the back of the grid. But l think Ricciardo would be in for a surprise if he thinks Yuki would be an easy challenge. If he does tame Yuki, he would repair most of the damage done at Mclaren and would put enormous pressure on Perez for 2024.

On Nick De Vries, l think he was not treated fairly. Apparently, he was given four races to prove himself. He got dumped after two of those races. A man has to be good for his word else what is his word worth really? I think he would land on his feet. He is an exceptional racer, he took a chance on a bad car and struggled against Yuki that has over two years of experience with that car. And got more support and patience from the team than him. He would be an asset to any team with a decent car. So l think he would be back.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by F1nKS

I didn't really understand the Nick DeVries move by Red Bull to bring him in. He is not that young. I would have went with Schumacher.

I read somewhere that in the tire test he had put up really good time (in a Red Bull). Maybe this move is meant to give them a better measure of where Yuki is.

---

I think Schumacher had the stigma of being dumped by Haas for crashing a lot, maybe that is why, I think. I think Schumacher dodged a bullet there. De Vries on the other hand had just won Formula E on first attempt. I doubt the outcome would have been any different. Schumacher may have struggled with this very difficult car to drive as much as De Vries did. He may have also lost his seat to Ricciardo in the current dynamics that lead to De Vries being ousted.

In all the calculations, they did not factor in how bad the car was and the relative experience of the drivers with the car. I think his Mercedes link may be a factor. Otherwise, they would have given him a full season to bed in. It is only a half chance to give any new driver half a season to prove themselves. It takes a full season to adjust and learn how the team works, how the car works and feel like he belongs in the team. Somehow they wanted to see results in a bad car from a driver in his rookie season in F1 in a very short period of time.

They were not really committed to him. If it was not now it would be later anyway regardless of how well he may have recovered.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nitrodaze

The Alpha Tauri is probably just as bad as the Mclaren he walked away from, or should l dumped.

---

I think the AT is much worse than last year's McLaren. Much as Ricciardo struggled with it, it was still a car that easily finished P5 in the constructor's championship, scored a podium and 159 points. Even taking into account that Norris and Ricciardo were a much more experienced and faster duo, that's a long way from the AT, which so far is dead last in the championship and has two tenth place finishes as best result.

No doubt the AT isn't a great car, and it's always going to be a risk for any new driver on a team. But really Ricciardo has nothing to lose. Nobody is going to keep paying him well if he isn't racing, nor for long.

Yuki overall has improved, but we have really had no measure of his skillset other than being beat by Gasly. Granted his first season in F1, but Ricciardo should at least give us a measurement of where Yuki is in improvement and overall skillset. He's only been in the points a couple times this year, but has been just out of the points 3 or 4 times now. Maybe having someone more experienced will push him forward as well.

As for Nyck Marko has stated it was lack of showing improvement that did him in. He's essentially been stagnant as compared to Yuki, and without improvement he doesn't fit the RB mold.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by airshifter

That went from rumor to reality fairly quickly!

I'd have to bet that Nyck wishes he took his offer at Williams now, but easy to say in hindsight. I can't blame any driver for wanting to get into the RB fold early in their career, but as with most good things it comes with risk. In this case the risk is flying too close to the sun, and once that happens things change in a hurry. Being that he was struggling to match Yuki, it became clear pretty quick that they would have an eye on him, and in the end it didn't work out. I hope he lands on his feet, though I doubt it will be in F1 any time soon.

As for RB ruthless and practical both. Now they have a benchmark to measure Daniel by, and see if he has in fact got his mojo back. He should be able to easily best Yuki and at the same time maybe help develop the car. In addition to the development help, it puts pressure on both Yuki and more importantly Sergio to get their respective acts together and drive hard to retain their seats.


I'm real interested to see how this goes down myself. Though Lando schooled him at McLaren, I do think that they had a car that was very abnormal in handling characteristics. It might have been much harder for Ric to "unlearn" things then it was for Lando to adapt to a poor car. Either way, we might find out finally. The AT doesn't seem to be much for a car, but if Daniel is back on form he should be able to at least get it in the points here and there.

It's F1, and silly season is all year, for all teams, and rarely ends up the way most of us expect.

---

The Red Bull fold is the last place I'd want to start my F1 career as a driver. You have a moron like Marko in charge that doesn't understand the difficulties drivers face in getting up to speed. De Vries was still a rookie with only a couple of days testing under his belt with a piece of shit car. And lets not forget how Kvyatt was replaced with Verstappen even though he was out performing Ricciardo at the time. He was certainly performing better than Perez is now.

Marko needs to go. He has destroyed so many talented drivers careers.

But yes, De Vries should have gone to Williams where they would have been more understanding and given him some time to get up to speed. Shame - he's a major talent.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by airshifter

No doubt the AT isn't a great car, and it's always going to be a risk for any new driver on a team. But really Ricciardo has nothing to lose. Nobody is going to keep paying him well if he isn't racing, nor for long.

Yuki overall has improved, but we have really had no measure of his skillset other than being beat by Gasly. Granted his first season in F1, but Ricciardo should at least give us a measurement of where Yuki is in improvement and overall skillset. He's only been in the points a couple times this year, but has been just out of the points 3 or 4 times now. Maybe having someone more experienced will push him forward as well.

As for Nyck Marko has stated it was lack of showing improvement that did him in. He's essentially been stagnant as compared to Yuki, and without improvement he doesn't fit the RB mold.

---

I agree, Ricciardo is a benchmark for Yuki. If he can beat Ricciardo for most of the season, he would be considered by Redbull as a good potential for the second seat in the senior team. His points in the AT are evidence of how much he has improved. The AT is not deserving of championship points with its current pace, so Yuki has done well to earn points with it, in a midfield that is so close and very tough to race in.

The Ricciardo situation is a double edge sword. Ricciardo would be hurt if Yuki beats him consistently. And Yuki would be done if Ricciardo beats consistently through the rest of the season. Hence the rivalry between these two would be entertaining to watch, as both of their future is invested in the other doing badly.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by The Black Knight

The Red Bull fold is the last place I'd want to start my F1 career as a driver. You have a moron like Marko in charge that doesn't understand the difficulties drivers face in getting up to speed. De Vries was still a rookie with only a couple of days testing under his belt with a piece of shit car. And lets not forget how Kvyatt was replaced with Verstappen even though he was out performing Ricciardo at the time. He was certainly performing better than Perez is now.

Marko needs to go. He has destroyed so many talented drivers careers.

But yes, De Vries should have gone to Williams where they would have been more understanding and given him some time to get up to speed. Shame - he's a major talent.

---

The interesting thing is, DeVries being available puts a lot of pressure on Sargeant. Sargeant has to improve noticeably or he may lose his seat to De Vries.

Redbull can be uncompromising, sometimes cryptically unreasonable when it comes to how they treat their young drivers. It was bad enough for Sainz, Gasly, Albon, and Ricciardo to leave involuntarily. It is simply the most risky place to start an F1 career. Ricciardo is clearly desperate for another chance, hence why he has taken a very risky opportunity with a team he knows full well how tough they can be on their drivers.

I just watched the Sky F1 podcast with Jaime Alguersuari on what it was like being in the Redbull young driver's program. It was very insightful. if you have not seen it, check it out here

Based on what he had to say, De Vries was going to be dropped anyway. Just the manner in which was dropped is what is shocking. But it does not really imply De Vries is not capable of F1 success in a more supporting team where he does not feel pressured from the onset to perform better than his teammate with more experience with the car.

De Vries faced the same scenario that Ricciardo faced with Lando Norris. Norris with a season headstart with the car outperformed Ricciardo consistently which lead to his departure from Mclaren. Age and experience do not mean much in the face of relative experience with the equipment. The driver with more experience with the car would always have an edge over the new driver. It did not mean Ricciardo had become crap and lost his competitive edge. It simply meant he could not find his best under the pressure to perform at a level better than his younger teammate with more experience with the car. The same is true for De Vries. Pressure forces errors to surface and cause drivers to have a forced approach to driving when all they need to do is to relax and let their talent surface and flow.

It would be a shame if we are deprived of seeing this truly talented Dutch driver show his true talent in an F1 team. Much like how we were deprived of seeing the true talent of Alguersuari and Buemi in a race winning F1 car.

I think the rivalry between Yuki and Ricardo is about to intensify in the next half of the season.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nitrodaze

I think the rivalry between Yuki and Ricardo is about to intensify in the next half of the season.

---

I would agree. Both are fighting for their F1 lives.