26th of May – Max Verstappen insisted the Dutch compatriot Nyck de Vries remain calm amid raging speculation about his future in Formula 1.
Dr. Red Bull Helmut Marko recently admitted Alpha Tauri the rookie is on a ‘yellow card’ – and now uses a boxing analogy to say the 28-year-old is ‘in the count’.
Amid rumors that he potentially only has three more races left in F1, de Vries was questioned about the situation by reporters in Monaco.
“No wonder the results are not correct – it’s normal in this industry, not just in Red Bull but in Formula 1 as a whole,” he said.
“If you want to keep your place, you have to perform well. But that was before Formula 1.
De Vries said that while the pressure on him is “more public” this year than in the past, he is not surprised by outside speculation.
“There’s no point in worrying about what other people think,” he insisted. “I can’t control it. What I can influence are my own performances.
“I am also disappointed in the first part of the season. I’ve made too many mistakes and I’m the first to admit it. But I know I’m fast enough to deserve my spot.”
De Vries was then confronted with data from the German company Paceteq, which showed that his average race pace deficit relative to his teammate Yuki Tsunoda reached four tenth places this season – a bigger gap than any other pair of teams.
“It doesn’t bother me because I know what happened in the races,” he said, explaining that the incidents in Melbourne and Bahrain made the difference seem bigger.
World champion Verstappen, a friend of de Vries’ circle, urged de Vries to just focus on the track and not gossip.
“We are all under pressure,” said the Red Bull driver. “We have to constantly perform and be the best version of ourselves.
“Trying even harder in a situation like this doesn’t work. You just have to race, not make things bigger than they are. Nyck knows what to do, he just has to get it right.”
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