Tost in Vettel-de Vries comparison: Crashes must happen

AlphaTauri Team Principal has used Sebastian Vettel as an example to underline his belief that rookies, including Nyck de Vries, must be given a 'crash credit' when learning the ropes in F1.

Dutchman de Vries entered the sport having impressed on debut with Williams when standing in for Alex Albon at last year's Italian Grand Prix, scoring points with a ninth-place finish.

He has already cultivated a strong career in motorsports, impressing in sportscar racing as well as becoming champion in F2 and World Champion in Formula E with Mercedes.

But his start to life as a full-time F1 driver has been challenging with AlphaTauri struggling for pace in the opening rounds, although Yuki Tsunoda has secured points in the previous two races.

At last weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, de Vries struggled across the Sprint schedule, crashing in Q1 of qualifying as well as the race - where he triggered the only Safety Car of the event.

Tost has now reiterated his desire to allow rookies to find the limit in F1, using four-time World Champion and former Toro Rosso driver Vettel to demonstrate his point.

"There's, as I always say, a learning process and a crash period," Tost told media, including RacingNews365.com.

"If the drivers don't crash, they don't know the limit. This is a credit you must give them, otherwise, it doesn't work.

"And there was no driver not crashing. I remember that Sebastian, in the first races, came back the first lap most often without the nose. That's part of the game.

"If a rookie is coming to Formula 1, he needs a minimum of three years to understand what's going on here."