"I've been in his position": Former McLaren driver talks about Nyck de Vries losing his seat to Daniel Ricciardo

Former F1 driver Pedro de la Rosa had mixed feelings about Daniel Ricciardo's return to the grid, mainly because Nyck de Vries had to be removed from AlphaTauri.

The Dutchman was simply unable to keep up with the sport and was not able to match the performance his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, was delivering. Hence, the seniors and Red Bull made this decision for their sister team.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, de la Rosa initially expressed his joy at seeing Daniel Ricciardo return to F1. He explained how he made a return at the right time since a reserve or simulator driver can get stuck in that particular position after a while. He said:

"I have mixed feelings really about this return. I mean obviously extremely happy for Daniel. I think it's fantastic really to go come back, especially because it hasn't been that long that he was racing so...and nowadays, becoming a test driver or reserve driver, if you stay there too long, you will never come back ever again because there's no testing. So it's good for great for him."

On the other hand, he was also sad to see Nyck de Vries get fired from the team to make room for Daniel Ricciardo. Pedro de la Rosa is well aware of how the Dutchman must be feeling because he himself experienced something similar back when he was dropped by Sauber in 2010 and was replaced by Nick Heidfeld after the Italian GP. He concluded:

"Then on the other side, I feel sorry for Nyck because I've been in his position. I know when a team fires you halfway through the season or some races to the end and it doesn't really...It's just quite tough. One thing is to terminate a contract when the season is over and the other, very different, is when you are still going through. But this is part of Formula One. It's part of the story."

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Daniel Ricciardo is delighted to return to F1 with AlphaTauri

After the Pirelli tire test, where Daniel Ricciardo drove the RB19, the seniors at the Red Bull team decided to drop rookie Nyck de Vries and send the Australian to AlphaTauri on loan. In a recent interview after the tire tests, Ricciardo expressed his initial feelings on returning to the grid and about the RB19 as well.

"Yeah, I'm back! To get back in a car is one thing, but to get back in the Red Bull was another. And yeah, I feel like I got up to speed pretty quick. Christian [Horner] was pretty content. I think he is always been a firm believer in me," he said.

"I'm stoked to go back on the grid. I'll be on loan to AlphaTauri until the end of the year. I mean, after doing the test today, of course, I feel ready and can't wait so...staying in the family," he added.

Daniel Ricciardo will be racing with the Italian team at the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP.