F1 News: Signing de Vries was Marko's 'biggest mistake' in F1

(GMM) Dr Helmut Marko admits signing up Nyck de Vries was his “biggest mistake” in charge of Red Bull’s Formula 1 driver program.

Other former Red Bull-promised F1 drivers – notably Scott Speed, Jaime Alguersuari, Daniil Kvyat and others – also failed to live up to their initial promise.

But Marko says the failure of the de Vries experiment, when the Dutchman impressed so much in his one-off substitute race for Williams in 2022 that it led to a full-time Alpha Tauri seat for 2023, is on another level.

Red Bull Racing Team Consultant Dr Helmut Marko talks with Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner and Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing in the garage during final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on March 18, 2023 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

After ten grands prix, the now 29-year-old de Vries was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo.

“My biggest mistake? There’s no doubt about it, that’s Nyck de Vries,” Marko, 81, told Italy’s Autosprint.

“He did very well on his debut for Williams in Monza,” said the Austrian. “But once he was at Alpha Tauri, he didn’t make any progress.

“He had an incredible track record,” Marko continued. “He was Formula 2 champion and also won the championship in Formula E. But for us, the stopwatch said that Nyck was the wrong choice.

“And in an attempt to go faster, he just made mistakes.”

Last year, de Vries returned to Formula E and also competed in the top hypercar class with Toyota in WEC.