It’s official. Nyck de Vries will replace Pierre Gasly at AlphaTauri. The news came in simultaneously with the confirmation of Gasly’s switch to Alpine, taking over the seat vacated by Fernando Alonso.

The de Vries-Gasly transfer saga was becoming an unending tale. However, Saturday came as a relief for the two drivers as the two teams announced their lineups for 2023. De Vries is 27 years old and has only raced once in Formula 1. Then what prompted Helmut Marko and AlphaTauri to go for him? Helmut Marko revealed what happened behind the curtains.

Helmut Marko on why they signed Nyck de Vries

Nyck de Vries was linked with a move to Red Bull’s sister team ever since the Italian GP. The Dutch rookie’s impressive one-off performance attracted the attention of many teams. He came in as a replacement for Alexander Albon who underwent appendicitis surgery.

De Vries scored 2 points finishing P9, while Williams’ other driver Nicholas Latifi finished P15. The Canadian has scored no points throughout the season until now.

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Helmut Marko, while talking to Motorsport.com, admitted that de Vries wasn’t on their radar until the Italian GP. He said, “Nyck was not on our first list, or shall I say not in first place. But what we saw of him at Monza did change things.” [Translated using Google]

Continuing, the Red Bull adviser talked about the leadership qualities of de Vries, “Yuki is still young and doesn’t have that experience technically, so Nyck can lead the team.”

“We’ll see how it goes next year in practice, but judging by his experience and personality, Nyck should be the team leader.”

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Talking about the age factor, Marko said, “Nyck may not be the youngest anymore, but he has gained a lot of experience. He had to work very hard to come back after that period with McLaren and that shows that he is very determined.”

Daniel Ricciardo to exit F1 after Nyck de Vries-Pierre Gasly news

Daniel Ricciardo was another driver who was looking for a seat in Formula 1 next year. After a lackluster 2021 and an even more disappointing 2022, McLaren and Ricciardo decided to part ways mutually.

Ricciardo admitted he knew Alpine was interested in Gasly but tried to “navigate“ around the situation. The Honey Badger said that he will try to make a comeback in 2024 after taking a one-year hiatus.

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It has been a tough year for Ricciardo. Maybe he needs to clear his mind before returning in 2024. While we will miss him next year, here’s wishing the newcomer de Vries the best of luck for his rookie season.