Tsunoda says de Vries deserved more time in F1

Yuki Tsunoda believes former AlphaTauri teammate Nyck de Vries deserved at least two more races to prove himself before losing his seat.

De Vries was dropped from the team after only 10 grands prix to make way for the returning Daniel Ricciardo, who will line up in Faenza colors at this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

Red Bull management had expressed disappointment that de Vries hadn’t been more competitive from the outset given his credentials as a Formula E and Formula 2 champion. Whispers had swirled for weeks that the Dutchman was set to be cut from the team, but Tsunoda said he was shocked that it came so suddenly, with two races still to run before the midseason break.

“There were rumors already,” he said. “I was not really surprised, but still surprised, when I heard. It was quick.

“Just 10 races, especially [at a] couple of tracks he didn’t know -- I think he was doing a pretty good job. I can tell from the lap time and how he behaved and everything, he was gradually building up his confidence.

“I know what Red Bull’s side is saying, but at the same time, yeah, I think he deserved at least until the summer break.”

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The Japanese third-year driver has had to take a step forward in performance and consistency this season to see off de Vries so quickly, but he paid credit to his former teammate for adding a deeper level of detail to the way he approaches feedback and development.

“Feedback after the session, to the team, how the car behaves -- he’s really specific,” he said. “I’ve never seen like that [from a] driver. I remember how the car behaves but, for example … [he] says the limitations but suggests the options to solve those issues also for the future development,

“What I got impressed by most was [in] last year’s Abu Dhabi test -- first time he drove the car -- he described how the front wing behaves through the corner, and he was saying almost spot on in entry how much the front wing deflects, through the corner, and that deflection made our car [behave in a certain way]. He kind of gets what the front wing does, and it was spot on. Good feedback, probably he’s like Niki Lauda!

“I can tell why he had such a successful result in the past, which was probably a bit of limitation for me that I have to go a step forward [in]. Nyck was a good example and reference of what I have to do.”

On the other hand, Tsunoda said he was confident that an unchanged approach could successfully deal with new teammate Ricciardo despite the Australian’s more formidable reputation.

“It’s a challenge always,” he said. “In the end it doesn’t make much difference. Daniel or Nyck, whatever. You need to beat your teammate, that’s the most important thing. Daniel is not an easy driver to beat, but at the same time I’ll do what I’m doing the last couple of races.

“I think it’s positive. Nyck came as a rookie and everyone expected me to be at least beating him. That’s the normal thing. If I beat [Ricciardo], everyone starts to recognize more than [from] a couple of previous races.”