Nyck de Vries “yellow card” - these are the two drivers lined up to replace him

The rookie driver has not scored a single point in the first five grands prix of 2023 and is coming under increasing pressure at AlphaTauri.

De Vries will be studied over the F1 Emilia-Romagna, Monaco and Spanish grands prix and has told to buck his ideas up.

“Nothing will happen in the next three races,” Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko told F1 Insider. 

“We spoke to De Vries and he agrees with us: he needs to improve. 

“The distance to teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who is doing a great job, is too big. 

“To use footballer jargon, Nyck got the yellow card, but not the red yet. 

“If he improves, a driver change will not be an issue.”

The two drivers lined up to replace De Vries

"If the worst came to the worst,” said Marko, “we would fall back on our pool of young talent. 

“It's specifically about Liam Lawson and Ayumu Iwasa.” 

New Zealander Lawson finished third in F2 last season and was a contender to fill the F1 AlphaTauri seat in 2023, but lost out to De Vries.

Lawson is now in Japan’s Super Formula series - a stepping stone which once aided Pierre Gasly’s rise to F1.

Lawson has been affiliated to Red Bull since 2019.

Iwasa, from Japan, is impressing this season in F2.

His inclusion would mean AlphaTauri would have two Japanese drivers including Tsunoda.

What about Daniel Ricciardo?

It was rumoured, and then rejected, that Ricciardo travelled to Italy for a seat fitting with AlphaTauri.

The veteran, now Red Bull’s third driver, is seeking a full-time comeback in 2024.

But the door to a swift return this season with AlphaTauri has been slammed shut.

“Ricciardo is not an issue,” Marko said.