‘That’s how Red Bull do it’ - Hamilton blasts unfair De Vries sacking

Red Bull decided to sack De Vries just 10 races into his first full-F1 season following a difficult start to life at AlphaTauri, their sister team. 

The Dutchman, who acted as a reserve driver for Mercedes before being signed by Red Bull, has been replaced by Daniel Ricciardo for the rest of the 2023 season. 

Asked if he is surprised to see Ricciardo return to F1 just 11 races after his final race for McLaren, Hamilton replied: “Well, not really because he’s been in every drivers’ briefing this year! 

“He’s in the drivers’ briefing but not actually competing. That’s very rare, you don’t often see the reserve driver in the drivers’ briefings. But I’m not surprised to see him back.”

The seven-time world champion added: “I was definitely surprised to see the decision they took with poor Nyck. He’s such a talented young man and such a nice guy as well. 

“So I think his future is still bright for him and he’ll have lots of great options, I’m sure.” 

Asked if only being given 10 races to prove himself was unfair on De Vries, Hamilton responded: “Yep.”

Following a long pause, he added: “That’s how Red Bull do it.” 

When it was suggested that De Vries' sacking shows how F1 works, Hamilton fired another dig at Red Bull: “I’d say that’s how Red Bull works.”