George Russell admits feeling ‘bad’ for ‘Formula 1 level’ rival Red Bull dropped

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Mercedes star George Russell has admitted to feeling ‘bad’ for Nyck de Vries as Red Bull did not give the Dutch driver the chance in Formula 1 that his talents deserved.

The Briton is confident that De Vries has the skills to merit a career in F1. But Red Bull took that opportunity away from the 28-year-old after just 10 Grands Prix in July. Daniel Ricciardo got the nod to take up the AlphaTauri seat after serving as Red Bull’s test and reserve driver.

De Vries failed to score a point in his 10 Grands Prix with AlphaTauri with his best result P12. He took the result on the streets of Monaco along with 14th-place finishes in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Spain. But he ended with P18 in Canada before P17s in Austria and Great Britain.

George Russell feels Red Bull and Helmut Marko set Nyck de Vries up to fail

AlphaTauri and Red Bull’s head of driver development, Helmut Marko, set De Vries up to fail in Formula 1, as far as Russell is concerned, though. The Mercedes driver has suggested that the Red Bull advisor tipping the Dutchman as AlphaTauri’s team leader was a big hindrance.

Marko came out in October and tipped De Vries to guide AlphaTauri and his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, despite his F1 rookie status. He believed the Dutchman should steer the ship after winning the 2019 Formula 2 title before then going on to claim the 2020/21 Formula E title.

It was also Marko who chose De Vries to enter F1 with AlphaTauri after impressing the Red Bull advisor. The Austrian took notice of the Dutchman after scoring points on his F1 debut for Williams at last year’s Italian GP. He was a last-gasp substitute for Alex Albon at Monza.

The Mercedes driver believes AlphaTauri had a ‘Formula 1 level’ driver

Russell knows what De Vries can offer a Formula 1 team after working with the Dutchman at Mercedes. The Silver Arrows kept the Uitwellingerga native under contract as their test and reserve driver between 2020 and 2022. Russell took Valtteri Bottas’ race seat there in 2022.

So, seeing how Red Bull and Marko handled De Vries’ introduction to F1 with AlphaTauri this year astounded Russell. He believes they made his time at the Faenza-based outfit ‘difficult’ from the start. Now, they have let a ‘Formula 1 level’ driver slip through the team’s fingers.

“I wouldn’t have expected it in any other team,” Russell said, via quotes by RacingNews365. “Obviously, we know how Red Bull operates and you need to respect how they do things.

“I mean, I didn’t follow Nyck closely during his time at AlphaTauri. But I saw the reports and things that Helmut said and it is a difficult place to go if you’re lacking confidence.

“For sure, they didn’t help him to gain confidence starting the season by saying he’s going to be the leader of the team for he is a rookie. It doesn’t matter that he is 27 or 28 years old.

“He is a Formula 1 rookie and you can’t go in telling the rookie that you are the leader of the team just because you’ve raced in more championships than your teammate.

“He was in a difficult position from when he started. So, I do feel bad for him. He is Formula 1 level but didn’t get the opportunity that he deserved.”