Sebastian Vettel has shared his thoughts on how Nyck de Vries was “brutally” sacked from Scuderia AlphaTauri, Red Bull’s junior team, earlier this week. The four-time Formula One world champion said he felt sorry for the 28-year-old Dutch who survived just 10 races for the team before being fired. De Vries had shown his potential during 2022 with a one-off debut with Williams, when Alex Albon was taken ill. The previous Formula 2 champion secured his 2023 seat as a full time driver at AlphaTauri after spending years on the sideline of the sport. On Tuesday it was announced De Vries would no longer be driving for the team, after a poor start to the season, which saw him crash out twice. Australian Red Bull reserve driver Daniel Ricciardo was announced to be taking the seat for the rest of the 2023 season, starting this coming weekend in Hungary. Many fans have shared their excitement of the popular driver returning to the grid, whilst also expressing sympathy with the Dutch rookie over the manner that he was dropped from the team. It took days for AlphaTauri to acknowledge the 28-year-old, choosing to instead promote the incoming driver. Sebastian Vettel, who appeared at Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend, was one of the earliest drivers into the Red Bull programme. The star rose through the ranks with AlphaTauri, who were originally known as Toro Rosso, before being promoted to the Red Bull team, where he became their first world champion. The 36-year-old German, who retired from the sport last year, won four straight titles for the team from 2010 to 2013. Before retiring, Vettel drove for both Ferrari and Aston Martin and solidified himself as a beloved driver within Formula 1. Vettel, who spent seven years within the Red Bull teams, told ITV: “I have to be honest, it’s obviously a shame for Nyck. “The way it came to an end. I think he got given a great chance, maybe things didn’t happen for him the way he expected or people expected but it’s also a bit harsh when it comes to a very sudden stop. It’s brutal. “I met him last year for the first time and he seemed like a really good person and he is a good driver. He won the F2 championship, he won international championships so he’s well recognised and I hope that this doesn’t put a dent in his confidence. “So that’s why people shouldn’t look at [his AlphaTauri career only] because people tend to do that and that’s not right. So I have to also sympathise with the fact that you know, it’s very harsh for him and I hope that people don’t [just] see that. “Maybe those five, 10 races whatever didn’t go according to how good they could have been. We don’t know why, first of all from the outside and second he is still a very good driver.” Vettel also shared that he was happy to see former teammate Daniel Ricciardo back on the grid after meeting with the driver at Silverstone on Monday. The four-time world champion said: “I’m very happy for Daniel. Very happy. I like him. “Obviously I’ve raced with them and I met him at the test when I was shaking down the McLaren for this weekend [the Goodwood Festival of Speed].”
