Nyck De Vries has missed out on the final practice runs of the 2023 F1 Saudi Arabian GP after a problem with his engine forced him out of FP3.
AlphaTauri said that the Dutchman would miss the session after it identified an issue which forced it to replace the power unit on De Vries’ car.
The team have not yet clarified whether the car will be ready to compete in the qualifying session later.
De Vries’ teammate Yuki Tsunoda was still able to make it out for the session, as the drivers got their final chance to scope out the Jeddah street circuit following a number of changes made during the off season.
Alonso chasing down Verstappen
Max Verstappen and Red Bull have topped the timing sheets so far in Saudi Arabia, with Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso close behind.
Verstappen dominated the opening race of the 2023 F1 season at the Bahrain GP, leading home a Red Bull 1-2, but it was Alonso who grabbed the headlines after Aston Martin made significant leaps in the off season to jump ahead of both Mercedes and Ferrari.
The result has prompted a wholesale rethink of Mercedes’ approach for the new rule sets introduced last year, with team principal Toto Wolff saying that the team had gotten it wrong with their car design philosophy against their rivals.
