Nyck de Vries in talks to land new job just days after Red Bull F1 sacking

19 July 2023 , 11:52

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Nyck de Vries recently lost his seat in F1 (Image: Getty Images)

Nyck De Vries is in talks over a return to Formula E just days after being sacked by Alpha Tauri.

The Dutchman bagged himself a long-sought after seat on the Formula 1 grid this season, owing perhaps to his impressive Monza cameo last term with Williams. De Vries struggled to deliver at Red Bull's junior outfit however and paid the price for failing to score a point with Daniel Ricciardo his mid-season replacement.

Alpha Tauri have been unable to put together a competitive package, meaning De Vries' best finish was 12th at the Monaco Grand Prix. Now though a door could be about to open in the all-electric series, where the 28-year-old spent three years, with the Nissan team as they look to bolster their line-up.

De Vries opted to head for Formula E after winning Formula 2 and immediately impressed with Mercedes, becoming world champion in his second season. He won four races during his time with the Silver Arrows but opted for an F1 switch when the team became McLaren.

His time in motorsport's elite series was short lived, lasting just ten races, but a route back into employment is now on the cards. Nissan will not retain Norman Nato for the 2024 season, opening the door for De Vries with The Race claiming that the team have ramped up their efforts to land the Dutchman.

Inside De Vries' long road to F1 including pressure after Hamilton example set

Nissan will retain youngster Sacha Fenestraz and also have an eye on Oliver Rowland, who previously race for the team, should they miss out on De Vries. The Formula E season will come to an end on the final weekend of July as the team's complete a double header in London.

Daniel Ricciardo was named as De Vries' replacement at Alpha Tauri (Getty Images)

The 2024 season would begin earlier than Formula 1 with the opening race in Mexico taking place in early January. De Vries has also previously participated in the Le Mans 24 hour race as well as the World Endurance Championship.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has suggested that hiring De Vries was "almost a stop gap" with the team veering away from their usual strategy of promoting from their junior programme before potentially bringing drivers into the main team via Alpha Tauri, as been the case with the likes of Max Verstappen.

He said on the F1 Nation podcast: "Nyck is a very capable driver, a Formula E champion, a Formula 2 champion, he's obviously got a lot of experience, he's not a young driver as such from an age perspective and I just didn't see how it fitted within the junior programme. It was almost a stop-gap."

Samuel Meade