Nyck de Vries or Yuki Tsunoda: Red Bull advisor discloses who will be AlphaTauri's leader in 2023 F1 season

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has clarified that he sees new joinee Nyck De Vries as sister team AlphaTauri's leader next season. Surprisingly, the Austrian did not back Yuki Tsunoda, who has been part of the team for almost two years now.

The Red Bull advisor shed light on his remarks while talking to Motorsport.com. Banking on De Vries' diverse career, he said:

"Absolutely. Yuki is still young and doesn't have that experience technically, so Nyck can lead the team. We'll see how it goes next year in practice, but judging by his experience and personality, Nyck should be the team leader."

Marko further spoke about why the team ultimately picked De Vries. The team advisor said:

"I was very impressed with the on-board radios when he got into Sebastian Vettel's car. I listened to the radio and the comments he made were very good."

De Vries was recently announced as AlphaTauri's latest recruit. Before F1, the driver was an F2 world champion and joined Formula E where he again won the championship.

---

Red Bull champ Max Verstappen hailed by father as extra special during wet weather

Red Bull's double world champion Max Verstappen had something extra during the wet weather conditions, as stated by his father. Verstappen pulled out a 26-second lead over Charles Leclerc by the end of the Japanese GP.

Jos Verstappen, who has a blog on his son's website, wrote:

“These kind of conditions are Max’s speciality – from an early age, he had something extra in the rain. I spoke to him and called him, and I already sent him a text message. I told him he is the best – but I say that almost every weekend.”

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez scored a one-two finish for the outfit at the Suzuka circuit. A last-minute error from Leclerc let his P2 slip to Perez. Further, as the race was not suspended, Verstappen was awarded full points as he scored his second title in a row.

Red Bull, however, are set to face a penalty for breaching the cost cap rules in 2021. While they've not yet pleaded guilty, it is highly likely that the team will be punished sometime soon.

With the flying Dutchman having bagged the Drivers' World Championship, the focus will turn to the battle for P2 as we head to the Circuit of the Americas next. The spotlight will be on second-placed Sergio Perez and third-placed Charles Leclerc in the US, with the two being separated by one point.