Tost: Difficult for rookies to come into F1 nowadays

De Vries was drafted to replace Pierre Gasly at AlphaTauri after the latter jumped ship to Alpine at the end of the 2022 F1 season, and the decision to hire the Dutchman was based on his audition at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, when he replaced an ill Alex Albon at Williams, scoring points on the occasion.

De Vries might be a rookie F1 driver, but he is far from being experienced, as he has claimed the 2019 Formula 2 Title as well as the 2020-21 Formula E Champion, and his seamless induction at Williams in 2022 at Monza proves that.

For that reason, De Vries was expected to perform well at AlphaTauri, many predicting he may beat his teammate Yuki Tsunoda whose performances have been inconsistent and erratic since he joined the Faenza squad back in 2021.

But while Tsunoda seems to be getting better, De Vries has not delivered over the nine grands prix he has contested so far in 2023, only qualifying once in Q2 (Monaco) but never scoring points, his best race result being a 12th place finish (Also in Monaco), not to mention his tendency to make mistakes and crash.

However, outgoing AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost leaped to the defense of his driver, and was quoted by Formula 1's Official Website saying: "I always say, it’s really difficult for rookies to come into Formula 1 nowadays.

"Because especially at the beginning of the season, they don’t know all the racetracks. Nyck didn’t know Melbourne, nor Saudi Arabia, nor Miami, and in Baku [where De Vries crashed out] we had the Sprint race, which means that after FP1 there was already qualifying. This makes it, for a young driver who is new to Formula 1, really difficult," he explained.

As for how he has been supporting De Vries, Tost revealed: "I said to him he should stay concentrated, he should stay confident, because we all know he can do a good job.

"He won races in Formula 3 and Formula 2, he won championships – he won the Formula E World Championship. That means he knows how to win races and win championships.

"He just needs to get the confidence – and we have to provide him with a good car," the Austrian concluded.

Tost who will be replaced by Laurent Mekies a the helm of AlphaTauri at the end of this season, has mentored several F1 World Champions over the years as well as many several race winner.

Those include reigning F1 Champion Max Verstappen, and retired Champion Sebastian Vettel. Race winners Daniel Ricciardo and Pierre Gasly also are two other successful drivers Tost worked with in Faenza.