However, while de Vries faced some tough times in his rookie season, Ricciardo’s presence at Faenza does not mean a driver change is definitely in the works.

On the contrary, there was nothing unusual about Ricardo’s visit. As part of his arrangement with Red Bull this year, he will be serving as reserve driver in some races, with the Australian also taking on the AlphaTauri role, so the seats will have to be fitted.

Ricciardo, who has not driven an F1 car since taking over at Red Bull, will drive the RB19 for the first time in tire testing after the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

But with Red Bull claiming Ricciardo has regained his missing form in the simulator, returning to top form, he would be an obvious contender for AlphaTauri should the Italian team choose to make the switch.

De Vries has endured a rough wash for Italy, scoring no points and being involved in accidents to which he deserved.

His best finish of the season was 14th in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. He crashed out in Australia and Baku and returned home in Miami in 18th after running behind Lando Norris on the opening lap.

For now, the team maintains faith in de Vries, with team principal Franz Tost saying at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix that it would be wrong to expect a rookie not to suffer the accident he deserves.

“As I always say, there’s a learning process and a crash period, because if drivers don’t crash, they don’t know the limits,” he said.

“That’s the credit you have to give them, otherwise it doesn’t work. And no driver doesn’t crash. I remember Sebastian (Vettel) in the first race, he most often came back on the first lap without Nose. That’s part of the game.”

Nyck de Vries, AlphaTauri AT04, crashes into McLaren MCL60’s Lando Norris at the start of the race

Photography: Michael Potts / motorsport pictures

But while de Vries was not under immediate pressure, sources said the team’s senior management, especially Helmut Marko, wanted to see some signs of progress at next month’s Spanish Grand Prix.

With a triple header on de Vries’ familiar track, there should be a better chance to judge his potential – which is why his performances at Imola, Monaco and Barcelona will be crucial in determining his future.

De Vries himself said he was looking forward to the chance at the Emilia Romagna, as the team should have a good performance step and a more normal weekend.

“We’re bringing some sort of bigger update,” he said. “So, yeah, we’re excited about that weekend to see if we can take it to the next level. It’s obviously a normal weekend, and that helps.”

Additional reporting by Adam Cooper