AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost believes Nyck de Vries is finding his rhythm in Formula 1 after a difficult start to the 2023 season.
De Vries, who signed for AlphaTauri following a superb one-race appearance for Williams at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, has yet to replicate his stellar debut but managed a clean weekend in Monaco, finishing 12th.
“[In] F1, you always feel pressure, but he knew the start of the season was not [what he] expected”, Tost told the media, including Total-Motorsport.com.
“It is not only his fault, the car was not very good. If you have a car that is not performing so well and having to learn new tracks, then life is really difficult.
“Everything is getting together, and I’m quite optimistic for the future. Nyck did a good job in Monaco and is getting more familiar with the car and the team.”
Tost still plans to retire
Since 2006 Tost has been in charge of Toro Rosso and AlphaTauri, but he will step down at the end of 2023 with Ferrari’s racing director Laurent Mekies and Peter Bayer taking over.
However, Mekies is yet to leave his current role at Ferrari due to ongoing talks between his current employers and Red Bull over his release terms.
“No, we have Peter if Laurent’s not coming,” said Tost. “I expect Laurent is coming later, at least at the beginning of January.
“We are looking forward to Peter and Laurent’s [arrival] because they [are] experienced F1 people they know the game, and I think these are the exact leaders for the future [growth of the team].”
