Nyck de Vries expressed on Wednesday his pain at losing his Formula 1 seat at AlphaTauri to Australian Daniel Ricciardo after just 10 races and before having had the opportunity to participate in the Grand Prix of the Netherlands, his native land.
The 28-year-old was dropped by the Red Bull team last week and replaced by eight-time Grand Prix winner Ricciardo, 34, who had been in a reserve role since leaving McLaren at the end of last year.
“Of course it hurts that the chance to play in F1 that I had dreamed of for so long ended prematurely,” Nyck de Vries wrote on Instagram, in his first public comment on his dismissal. “But life is not a destination, it’s a journey, and sometimes you have to take difficult paths to get there.”
“I am grateful for our privileged life, proud of our journey and of my family. This is just one more experience; we are moving forward and looking forward to the next chapter.”
The comments came a day after Red Bull team boss Christian Horner gave further details on the decision to bring back former Red Bull driver Ricciardo ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest.
