Red Bull boss admits he had his reservations about putting Nyck de Vries in AlphaTauri

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner revealed that there were a few reservations in his mind while signing Nyck de Vries for the AlphaTauri seat earlier this season given his experience in different types of motorsports.

Speaking in the F1 Nation podcast, Horner mentioned that since De Vries was a Formula E and Formula 2 world champion, it didn't seem right to put him in the junior category. He also carried experience racing in Formula E, and hence, there were some expectations from his performance.

When Horner was asked about the reservations he might have had, he replied (via RacingNews365):

"Yes. I think that though Nyck is a very capable driver and Formula E Champion Formula 2 Champion, he's, he's obviously with a lot of experience. He's not a young driver as such to an age perspective and I just didn't see how it fitted within the junior program. It was always a, you know, a stopgap."

Nyck de Vries was recently replaced by Red Bull at AlphaTauri with Daniel Ricciardo after his performance was not deemed satisfactory by the team. It was earlier revealed that the Dutchman was given a warning about the same, and when he failed to perform at the following-up races, his replacement was announced. This happened right after Ricciardo tested in the RB19 at Silverstone, serving his duties as a reserve driver.

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Christian Horner reveals why Red Bull didn't let Nyck de Vries race till his home race

The Dutch Grand Prix is lined up in the calendar at the end of August and is going to be the first race after a month's mid-season Formula 1 break. Red Bull's decision of replacing Nyck de Vries soon before his home race was criticized by many, as this might have been his only chance at racing there as a Formula 1 driver.

Christian Horner was asked the same question and he replied. According to him, the decision was already made by Red Bull, and it was not a perfect fit to keep him with the team for another coming month. Horner added that this would also give Daniel Ricciardo 12 races to prove his pace in the AlphaTauri (via Motorsport):

"I think is very difficult. That would have meant obviously leaving him in the car until after the summer break is it? But I think the situation was clear. It was a question of 'okay, what's the point in waiting?' If we go to do something, we might as well get on with it and give Daniel 12 races to see you know what he's capable of."