Daniel Ricciardo admits 28-year-old Formula 1 driver wasn’t up to scratch this season

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AlphaTauri driver Daniel Ricciardo has admitted that he’s not sure Nyck de Vries was quite up to the required standard to stay in Formula 1 this season.

Daniel Ricciardo replaced the Dutchman halfway through the season after a poor start to the campaign from the 28-year-old.

Speaking on the Beyond The Grid Podcast, Ricciardo was discussing his return to the Formula 1 grid.

F1 is a ruthless industry and with only 20 seats on the grid, you have to be at the very top of your game from the first race.

It says a lot that Williams waited until after the season ended to decide whether to continue with Logan Sargeant for another season after an underwhelming rookie campaign.

A driver who wasn’t afforded the luxury of all 22 races this year was Nyck de Vries.

The 28-year-old put himself in the frame to replace Pierre Gasly at AlphaTauri after guiding a struggling Williams into the points at Monza in 2022.

However, de Vries was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo after failing to score a point during the first 10 races of the season.

The Australian admitted that he felt plenty of sympathy for his predecessor.

But he also understood that he might not have been up to the required standard to retain his seat, especially in a team as cutthroat as AlphaTauri.

Ricciardo not sure de Vries performed well enough this season

Asked if he felt sorry for the Dutchman, Ricciardo said: “Yes, because I’d been through it less than a year earlier. I understood it, you know, but it’s all very subjective. Did he have enough time? Maybe not.

“Were his results good enough? Maybe not. But maybe it’s just what I’ve been through, and I’m in my mid-thirties now, we’ve all put so much into this and I know Nyck has put so much into his career.

“Obviously, he finally got a chance and it didn’t work out. Six months earlier, he’s probably the most excited he’s ever been to start a race season.

“Six months later, he doesn’t have a race seat. So I feel for him and anyone in that position, because your dream can start and ultimately kind of finish or be derailed in a short amount of time.”

Ricciardo has benefitted from de Vries not driving well enough this season and has loftier ambitions than seeing out his days in F1 at AlphaTauri.

Martin Brundle has suggested that he’s not ready to step up to drive for Red Bull yet, but that’s ultimately the aim.

Alongside Yuki Tsunoda, Ricciardo will hope that working more closely with Red Bull next year will see them move closer to the front of the grid.

There isn’t a better team to learn things from right now and that could see them leave the bottom three teams behind and challenge the likes of Alpine and Aston Martin in the midfield.