Verstappen backs 'incredible' De Vries to bounce back

Max Verstappen has backed Nyck de Vries to rebound and find further career success despite his mid-season departure from AlphaTauri.

De Vries was signed by the Faenza-based outfit this year after a stunning F1 debut with Williams at the Italian Grand Prix last term, where he deputised at short notice for Alex Albon and finished ninth.

The Dutchman struggled to match the pace of teammate Yuki Tsunoda, and after receiving public criticism, not least from Red Bull Motorsport Advisor Helmut Marko, de Vries was axed after just 10 races and replaced by Daniel Ricciardo.

"I'm good friends with Nyck, so it's also sad to see him go, but unfortunately that's also how this world works," Verstappen told media, including RacingNews365.com.

"I think we all know that Nyck is an incredible driver. He's shown that in every single category. This new generation of cars, when you're a rookie, doesn't matter what age you are, they are quite difficult to get on top of.

"That [AlphaTauri] car probably is not the most competitive, so it all made it a bit harder.

"Then you just sometimes need these one or two moments where you shine, where you maybe get a point or two, and these kinds of moments didn't happen, and the team wanted to change something.

"That's also a part of Formula 1, it's sometimes just the wrong time or the wrong moment when you're there and it doesn't work out for you."

De Vries has 'plenty of opportunities'

De Vries won the Formula E World Championship and F2 whilst also racing with distinction in the World Endurance Championship before switching to F1 and Verstappen added: "People sometimes seem to [think] if it doesn't work out in F1, everything is lost, but it's not.

"There are so many great categories where you can have a great career and probably even more fun than Formula 1, so I know he has a lot of opportunities.

"I spoke to him last week, we saw each other, and he will definitely find his feet again with a great team somewhere and a great championship.

"So I don't think it actually is the end of the world because there's so many great races that you can be part of."