Pressure continues to build on 28-year-old F1 driver after Austrian GP

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AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries is still under pressure to stay on the Formula 1 grid after the Austrian Grand Prix.

Speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast, journalists Diego Mejia, Silja Rulle and Tom Clarkson discussed another poor showing from the Italian team.

Although based in Faenza in Italy, the Austrian GP was technically AlphaTauri’s home race due to their connections with Red Bull.

Unfortunately, it was not a happy return as they once again came away from two races without any points.

Both cars were knocked out in Q1 of Friday’s qualifying session, although they both progressed to Q2 on Saturday for the Sprint Race.

Neither driver would make up any places on Saturday afternoon and didn’t fare much better in Sunday’s showpiece event.

Yuki Tsunoda finished last of the classified drivers, while De Vries finished 15^th on track before time penalties saw him drop two places.

De Vries is already under pressure to maintain his seat in Formula 1 after a tough start with AlphaTauri.

It’s hard to argue he’s not in a slow car, but ultimately so much more was expected of him when he join the grid at the start of the year.

AlphaTauri’s De Vries under increased pressure

Speaking about the Dutchman’s fortunes, Diego Mejia said: “It was the home race for Red Bull but it was also for AlphaTauri.

“They’re still in a very difficult position, last in the Constructors’ [Championship].

“Nyck de Vries didn’t do himself any favours this weekend, unfortunately, not that he had the car to do great things.

“The pressure is building up there, not a great weekend either for Yuki [Tsunoda].

“With so many rumours, you would have liked Nyck to have the chance to get the kind of result that would get him out of that hole but unfortunately, it’s getting deeper.

Tom Clarkson added: “And it spirals doesn’t it? As the pressure builds and your boss Helmut Marko is telling the world that you haven’t done a good enough job, so difficult for him.”

After the race, Marko spoke to Motorsport.com, via GP Blog and said: “I think this is one of the better rankings he has achieved,” when asked about De Vries and the pressure on him.

The Dutch driver has underwhelmed this season and has consistently been off the pace of Tsunoda.

After Logan Sargeant’s impressive 13^th-place finish, De Vries is now last in the Drivers’ Championship.

He’s one of just two drivers without a point and with the likes of Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson lurking in the background, he’ll know his races may be numbered at this rate.