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“De Vries needs more time” amid tough F1 start
A Formula and Formula E champion, de Vries excelled in a one-off race for Williams at Monza last year before joining AlphaTauri, where he finished ninth for Alex Albon.
Despite being an F1 rookie, de Vries’ extensive experience as a Mercedes test driver and champion in other forms of motorsport makes him an attractive prospect for AlphaTauri to replace Pierre Gasly in the Alps.
But so far the 28-year-old has struggled with the team’s AT04, which has struggled in its first five grands prix, with a spate of costly crashes and mistakes.
Plus: Why AlphaTauri is too early to consider releasing de Vries
While reports that De Vries’ future has been threatened have been deemed outrageous, the Dutchman will still have to show progress in order to stem the build-up in pressure.
According to seven-time grand prix champion Montoya, de Vries deserved more time after going through tough street circuits, some of which de Vries never raced.
“It’s not easy to get into F1, but I think he just needs a little more time,” Montoya told Autosport.
Nyck de Vries, AlphaTauri AT04
Photography: Andy Horn / motorsport pictures
“I think when he comes back to Europe, back to the tracks he’s used to, I think it’s going to get better for him.
“The schedule was also difficult for him because he was going into all these new circuits at the beginning of the year, so I think once we got back on the track he knew he should be better.”
Asked whether he thought de Vries would get that time given F1’s erratic nature and Red Bull CEO Helmut Marko’s notoriously tough approach, two-time Indy 500 champion Juan Pablo Pablo Pablo Pablo Pablo Pablo Pablo Pablo Pablo Pablo Pablo Pablo Pablo Patricia of two-time Indy 500 champion Juan Pablo Pablo Pablo Pablo Pablo Pablo Pablo Pablo Pablo Pablo Pablo was asked if he thought de Vries would get that time, given F1’s erratic nature and Red Bull chief executive Helmut Marko’s notoriously tough attitude. The reply was: “That’s the reality of the deal, it’s part of F1, you’ve got to act.
“However, he has at least shown some signs of good performance, so we will have to see later and give him a little more time.”
De Vries and rookie Logan Sargeant are the only drivers without points at this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix.
De Vries qualified just once past teammate Yuki Tsunoda and was yet to finish ahead of the Japanese driver, who earned Faenza’s only points by finishing 10th in a row in Australia and Azerbaijan.
Russell also had bounce problems in the high-speed corners of Barcelona, which made it harder to drive his Mercedes W14 to the limit, with the Briton reporting he believed he had problems with his tires early in the first quarter.
“The car didn’t feel good every lap of the race,” Russell said when asked by Autosport about the car’s behavior.
“We made some small changes from FP3 to quali, and the car bounced a lot in high-speed corners.
“In the corners that were easy to get flat in practice, I couldn’t get it flat. I couldn’t get the tires to work, everything went wrong. From the first lap in Q1, I knew we weren’t going to have a good day. It was weird .
“We should take advantage of conditions like that, which we usually do. As a team we usually do well when it’s challenging, but today, especially with me, it was different.”
Russell was knocked out in the second period after contact with team-mate Lewis Hamilton and was six-tenths off Max Verstappen’s benchmark time for the stage.
Russell mentioned that Q1 leader Nico Hulkenberg was 1.5 seconds behind to underscore his struggles, adding: “I’ve tried all kinds of outer circles, all kinds of pressure. Probably just getting ourselves a little bit lost and confused.
George Russell, Mercedes-AMG
Photograph: Sam Bloxham / motorsport pictures
“For those cold, wet, oily conditions, the set-up changes we made in qualifying were definitely going in the wrong direction, which is a shame, especially because I think we have a very fast car. I think in FP2 In , we probably have the second fastest car after the Max, ahead of the Ferraris.
“So not all is lost. Tomorrow we just have to be patient and try to bounce back.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff backed Russell’s downbeat assessment of his weekend, admitting the team had gone the wrong way with his car.
“It was clear from the start that the set direction we were going with George made the car worse,” he said. “I think from the very beginning he was complaining that he didn’t have any grip, he had bounce and the car was understeering before it was oversteering.
“That’s something we need to unwind now to see exactly what we could have done differently.”
Charles Leclerc was disappointed to qualify for the Spanish Grand Prix for the 19th time. The Monaco native is looking forward to what will be a tricky game for him. Leclerc expects tire management and pit stops to play a big role in the race. He told this in a press conference with GPblog and others.
Lewis Hamilton finished fifth in Spain. Due to Pierre Gasly’s penalty, the Briton could start from fourth. The Mercedes driver suffered a lot from a bouncing car, the Mercedes driver told GPblog and others at a press conference during free practice.
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