Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was spotted in a Monaco café with recently-ousted Alpha Tauri driver Nyck De Vries. The Dutchman faced axing from his F1 seat at the hands of Red Bull boss Helmut Marko on Tuesday. He did not have a particularly good start to his rookie F1 season. After going point-less in each of the 10 races he entered, the move was seriously anticipated by the F1 insiders. Additionally, being out-qualified by teammate Yuki Tsunoda in every outing did not help his cause either.
Now, Red Bull reserve driver and 8-time Grand Prix winner Daniel Ricciardo is all set to replace him in the Italian team. Ricciardo performed a test for the senior team on Monday and his impressive lap times sealed the spot for him. Nonetheless, the move has landed a dark shadow on what looked like an impressive motorsports career. Nyck De Vries is a 2019 Formula 2 champion, and 2022 Formula E champion.
De Vries was in line to race in Formula E this season for Maserati. However, when Alpha Tauri contacted him for this role, he swooped right in to grab the incredible opportunity. After having his career cut short in the middle of the season, De Vries surely needed some words of hope and wisdom. And as it looks, he turned his old boss and confidant Toto Wolff.
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Toto Wolff and Nyck De Vries Meet Gives Rise to Speculations
De Vries has had close relations with Wolff and Mercedes family. He has done a plethora of work and testing for the Silver Arrows in the past as well. Being a Mercedes junior, he even entered a race for Williams last season, finishing in points. His performance was so clinical that it sealed the spot for the Dutch star. However, to the surprise and disappointment of many, he couldn’t perform to the heights of his powers in the ten races this season so far.
Now, after the unfortunate exit, he was seen having an intense conversation with Mercedes Honcho Wolff. The internet is having a share in this unexpected event. Fans have been veiling stories left right and center as to what this might mean. One Reddit user wrote, “The Toto masterplan: send Nyck in to spy on RB, and then take him back with insider knowledge.” However, purely based on speculation, these theories don’t seem to have any basis.
“[Another F1 seat] will be difficult, I think. But at the same time, I do think he saw this coming. I think he can build a nice career in long-distance racing,” suggested Red Bull boss Marko to the young racer.
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