The decision to sack Nyck de Vries from his AlphaTauri Formula 1 drive is almost as questionable as giving him the seat in the first place. Helmut Marko acted on impulse after the Dutchman's performance at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix for Williams, subbing for the appendicitis-stricken Alexander Albon, performing fantastically as he took ninth place, earning two points. Yes, he was also a Mercedes reserve, Monza were favourable conditions for de Vries, owing to the strengths of the Williams - with Albon predicting at the time a good points haul was on the cards. It's not exactly as if de Vries took a car from the back row and got it in the points. Which is exactly what he was expected to do in 2023 in an AlphaTauri squad drifting, with the worst car and immense changes coming before the 2024 season begins. de Vries is now gone - but where does that leave him and his future motorsport career?
F1 comeback unlikely
As the old saying goes, it is the easy bit getting to F1; the hard bit it staying there. Second chances are rarely given, and what with teams having a plethora of reserve (and younger) drivers hanging about, it is very likely that the 2023 British Grand Prix was de Vries' last at 28. He is a good, technical, capable driver but the very fact that it took him multiple attempts to win the Formula 2 title, and doing so against a comparatively weak field in 2019, should have warned Marko off. It's not like a Charles Leclerc, George Russell or Oscar Piastri situation of 'one year and win it. But then the question of where does de Vries slot in? He's unlikely to go back to Mercedes with Mick Schumacher now firmly in place with the likes of Stoffel Vandoorne and Felipe Drugovich also around as capable spare drivers if required.
Formula E and WEC is best bet
The best option de Vries has at the moment is a return to Formula E, who would no doubt welcome back the 2020/21 champion with open arms, and dovetailing that with a programme in the World Endurance Championship. It is something Sebastien Buemi has been doing since the electric racing series began in 2014, and has brought him the 2015/16 FE and 2014, 2018-19 and 2022 WEC titles with a fourth set to be secured in '23. You can also throw in the four Le Mans 24 Hour wins for good measure as an added bonus in the Toyota. The Dutchman was set to race for Maserati in FE this season before Marko grabbed him to Grand Prix racing, but a seat there is unlikely owing to new driver contracts, while it would be suitable to find rides which compliment each other in both series i.e: potentially not like for Nissan and Toyota as Buemi did before his switch to Envision for Season 9 of FE. The other major option for de Vries is a seat in IndyCar, but the top teams are largely stable on the driver market, with no major changes in the pipeline.
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