“Of course it hurts”: Nyck de Vries shares first thoughts since his AlphaTauri F1 sacking

Nyck de Vries has broken his silence following his sudden F1 exit days after the British GP. The former AlphaTauri driver took to social media to make his first public comments two weeks after being sacked by the team.

De Vries' rookie F1 campaign lasted 10 races before Red Bull taskmaster Helmut Marko decided to put Daniel Ricciardo in the seat. The Dutchman, who had a stellar debut last season with Williams last season, failed to show any glimpse of such pace at AlphaTauri as Marko ran out of patience.

Nyck de Vries is hurt that his shot at F1 was shortlived, having worked so hard to reach the premier series. The 28-year-old penned a note on Instagram where he admitted his disappointment. But he is willing to move on, treating it as a part of his journey in motorsports.

Announcing his hiatus from social media, De Vries thanked Red Bull and AlphaTauri as he wrote the following note on Instagram:

"A short note from me… After recent events, I decided to take some time for myself away from social media, which I will continue to do..."

"I would like to thank Red Bull and Scuderia AlphaTauri for the opportunity to live my dream. Of course it hurts that the F1 chance I dreamed of for so long ended prematurely. But life is not a destination, it’s a journey, and sometimes you have to take the hard road to get where you want to be."

Grateful for the support, De Vries wrote about moving on to the next chapter:

"I am grateful for our privileged lives, proud of our journey and my family. This is just another experience, we move on and look forward to the next chapter. Thank you to everyone for your kind and encouraging messages in the past week. It’s been heart-warming to feel your support."

Nyck de Vries also cleared the rumors regarding the false comments that were being circulated in the media. Posts on Twitter suggested that the Dutchman made some comments following his F1 exit on Red Bull and Lewis Hamilton being robbed of his F1 title in 2021.

De Vries' manager had previously dismissed the reports, adding that they were considering legal actions against the defamatory act.

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Yuki Tsunoda claims Nyck de Vries "had the pace" for F1

Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries

AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda stated that Nyck de Vries "had the pace" for F1 and his experience in other racing categories helped the team. Tsunoda opened up about his former teammate, with whom he shared an enjoyable time during their 10-race stint for AlphaTauri.

"I had an enjoyable time over the past ten races with Nyck. I learned from him, and we also had a good time away from the track." the Japanese driver was quoted by RaceFans.net.

Tsunoda added that de Vries' experience in Formula E and endurance racing helped provide valuable feedback to the team.

"He had plenty of experience in other categories and gave the team good feedback based on his knowledge. He had the pace and, as a friend, I enjoyed my time with him." he added.

It will be interesting to see what's next in store for Nyck de Vries.