Franz Tost says the decision to put a premature end to Nyck de Vries' tenure with AlphaTauri was a gut-wrenching call, the team boss admitting that in hindsight, the Dutchman was ill-prepared for F1.
De Vries was offered a full-time drive with AlphaTauri by Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko on the back of his remarkable one-off with Williams at the Italian Grand Prix in 2022.
As a former FIA Formula 2 and Formula E champion, the 28-year-old undeniably possessed the credentials to justify a full-time seat in F1, having also gained valuable experience and mileage as Mercedes development driver in F1 which included several FP1 outings last season.
Yet Tost admits that de Vries lacked the proper foundation and groundwork that all F1 debutants should have, regardless of their age of experience.
"This was also a very emotional decision because we have a really good relationship with Nyck," Tost said at the Hungaroring. "He didn’t have an easy time with us.
"First of all, as a rookie – and this is generally for the rookies also for the future – the first half of the season is not so easy because they are racing at many race tracks which they don’t know, like Melbourne, Miami, Saudi Arabia.
"Then they come to Baku, where it’s a sprint race. That means there’s only FP1 and then it’s already qualifying.
"That means, nowadays, if a young driver comes to Formula 1, he really has to be prepared in the best possible way.
"Which means, for me, at least 5,000-6,000 kilometres of private testing with an old car, like Alpine did with [Oscar] Piastri. This is the way to go."
Tost also acknowleged that AlphaTauri's uncompetitive AT04 only made de Vries' task "more complicated".
"It was difficult for him," said the Austrian. "Our car was not so competitive and if a car is not so good, it’s even more complicated.
"I expected a much better performance in Austria and in Silverstone because both of these tracks Nyck knew quite well, but the performance didn’t come up and then we decided to change him.
"Also thinking for the second half of the season, where he doesn’t know Singapore, Japan, Mexico, Austin and Qatar, which would not have made it quite easier."
Despite de Vries' shortfall and failure to fulfill Red Bull's expectations, Tost remained convinced that signing up the Dutch was, at the time, the right decision.
"It was, in the end, decided by Red Bull," he added. "Afterwards, everyone is more clever. I think, at that time, it was the right decision."
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
