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Nyck de Vries impressed the whole paddock after racing for Williams at Monza and now could be in contention for an AlphaTauri seat.
Helmut Marko of Red Bull Racing is reportedly interested in De Vries moving to AlphaTauri. (Photo by Marcel ter Bals/Orange Pictures/BSR Agency/Getty Images)Over the weekend of the Italian Grand Prix, Nyck de Vries filled in for Williams due to Alex Albon’s absence. Albon suffered from appendicitis and was taken to hospital on the Saturday. Consequently, he was unable to partake in FP3 and Qualifying, and the Grand Prix.
De Vries had previously driven for Aston Martin on the Friday during FP1. He then managed to find his feet in the Williams for the rest of the weekend. He finished the race in ninth, scoring points on his F1 debut.
His impressive performance drew all eyes to him, creating speculation that he could be up for Nicholas Latifi’s seat, should the Canadian be let go by the team for next season. However, now it appears that de Vries could be in contention for the AlphaTauri seat.
The AlphaTauri Seat Drama
Currently, Red Bull’s sister team, AlphaTauri, has Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly driving for them. Whilst Gasly is contracted for next season, he has been tipped to move to Alpine. This would mean the French team would have an all-French line-up.
The aim was for Colton Herta to drive for AlphaTauri. This would then prompt Gasly’s move as he would’ve been released from his contract. But as Herta was an IndyCar driver, he didn’t have enough super licence points.
Red Bull were negotiating with the FIA to try and get Herta on the grid for 2023, but have since abandoned their efforts.
De Vries to AlphaTauri
Auto Hebdo have reported that Helmut Marko met with de Vries in Graz in Austria. According to their reports, the Red Bull advisor met with the Dutchman to discuss his move to AlphaTauri.
Auto Hebdo stated that Marko and de Vries are said to have:
“agreed on a move of [de Vries] to AlphaTauri next season, where he is expected to race alongside Yuki Tsunoda.”
This would be an interesting move for the Dutchman as he is currently the Mercedes Reserve Driver and has raced for Mercedes in Formula E. Toto Wolff, Mercedes’ Team Principal, said earlier this year that Mercedes “can’t really tell any team to look” at de Vries because it would “be felt as interference.”
De Vries also commented on his future after Monza, saying that getting on the Formula One grid is “out of [his] control”. But many thought he was likely to have secured his seat at Williams after out-performing Latifi.
However, with the potential of a seat at AlphaTauri, de Vries’s future is now up for more speculation.
Headline Image: GettyImages
