The Austrian has no doubts.
The Red Bull Junior Program is set to regain significant credibility in 2025, with Liam Lawson becoming a full-time driver for Red Bull and Isack Hadjar seizing his opportunities with Racing Bulls after narrowly missing the F2 title. In recent years, the talent pool long overseen by Helmut Marko has experienced some missteps (partly because several excellent drivers, such as Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz, have distanced themselves from Red Bull). Over the past five years or so, decisions have been influenced by the lack of young talents ready to debut in F1. Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo were given second chances, Brendon Hartley was offered an opportunity when it seemed unlikely, and Red Bull also recruited from outside their academy, as in the cases of Sergio Perez and Nyck De Vries.
The Dutch driver, in fact, “wins” an unflattering distinction, though through no fault of his own. In an interview with *Autosprint*, Helmut Marko identified the current Toyota WEC driver as the biggest mistake of his managerial career: “My biggest mistake? Nyck De Vries, without a doubt,” Helmut Marko said. “He performed very well on his debut with Williams at Monza, but once he joined our team, he didn’t improve. He had an impeccable résumé (F2 champion and Formula E world champion), but the stopwatch didn’t back him up, and in trying to push harder, he started making mistakes.”
The Monza Mirage
Nick De Vries had stepped in as an emergency replacement for Alexander Albon, who was sidelined by appendicitis (the same issue that ruled Carlos Sainz out of the Saudi Arabian GP). Taking advantage of the Williams’ competitiveness and his familiarity with the Temple of Speed (where he had performed well in GP3 and won in F2), he delivered an extraordinary ninth-place finish, securing two of the eight points Williams earned in the 2022 Constructors’ standings (where they finished last, far behind AlphaTauri, ninth with 35 points).
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