Russell critical of Marko’s handling of De Vries

De Vries was dropped by AlphaTauri ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, paving the way for Daniel Ricciardo’s return.

It meant that De Vries had just 10 races in F1 with AlphaTauri before being sacked.

After struggling in the opening rounds, the pressure was immediately on De Vries, with Marko openly critical of him in the media.

Many expected De Vries to lead AlphaTauri given his age - he’s five years older than Yuki Tsunoda - and wealth of motorsport experience.

Russell, who raced against De Vries in F2, believes it was wrong to assume De Vries would be the team leader just because he’s older and that he “didn’t get the opportunity that he deserved.”

"I wouldn't have expected it in any other team," Russell said. "Obviously we know how Red Bull operates and you need to respect how they do things. 

"I mean, I didn't follow Nyck closely during his time at AlphaTauri, but I saw the reports and things that Helmut said and it is a difficult place to go if you're lacking confidence. For sure, they didn't help him to gain confidence starting the season by saying he's going to be the leader of the team for he is a rookie. 

"It doesn't matter that he is 27 or 28 years old, he is a Formula 1 rookie and you can't go in telling the rookie that you are the leader of the team just because you've raced in more championship than your teammate. 

"He was in a difficult position from when he started so I do feel bad for him. He is Formula 1 level, but didn't get the opportunity that he deserved."