Marko responds to De Vries future rumours: He's got a yellow card

Rumours have emerged that Nyck de Vries could end up being replaced by Daniel Ricciardo midway through the 2023 Formula 1 season, after a spate of disappointing results for the Dutchman.

The Spanish Grand Prix was named as the 'deadline' for improvements on de Vries and for any potential decision being made by Red Bull management, however advisor Helmut Marko has clarified these reports.

"Nothing will happen in the coming races," said Marko in an interview with F1 Insider.

"We talked to De Vries and he agrees with us: he needs to improve. The distance to teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who is doing great, is too big. To speak in football player language: Nyck got the yellow card, but not the red one yet. If he improves, there will be no problem."

Ricciardo not on replacement radar

Ricciardo fuelled the speculation after recently going for a seat fitting at AlphaTauri at their headquarters in Faenza. He is also set to take part in a Pirelli test in July with Red Bull.

But according to Marko, the Australian is not currently being looked at as a potential replacement if de Vries fails to improve and instead points to their talent pool in Formula 2.

"In the worst case scenario, we can fall back on our pool of young talent. We are talking about Liam Lawson and Ayumu Iwaso. Ricciardo doesn't," said Marko.

He also does not see a potential future with Mick Schumacher, considering his ties with Mercedes: "He is a Mercedes driver and does not appear in our plans. Toto Wolff is responsible for him."