I think it was more that Marko hasn’t liked his performance this season. It seems as though Marko was the one that pushed for de Vries when Horner and Tost had other preferences. Marko has been brutal toward him recently, but I think that’s a change and a reaction to missed expectations.
Asked on The Inside Line podcast if he and Red Bull boss Horner often disagree about signings, Marko said: "Not often, but sometimes we do. The last one… I would say de Vries.
“Basically it’s AlphaTauri, but we’re a big family and we get opinions. He [Horner] was not a fan of De Vries. I would say at the moment it looks like he was right.”
My sense is that the front-runners were Schumacher (who Tost was pushing for based on the above ESPN article), Lawson/Hauger (who are the RB juniors closest to be ready for a callup), and Ricciardo who didn’t want the seat last year. I feel like Nyck was a dark horse who shook up the order last year, but I don’t think they really lost any options giving him a shot.
I think it was more that Marko hasn’t liked his performance this season. It seems as though Marko was the one that pushed for de Vries when Horner and Tost had other preferences. Marko has been brutal toward him recently, but I think that’s a change and a reaction to missed expectations.
Supporting quote from https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/37926391/red-bull-boss-admits-horner-right-doubt-de-vries :
Here’s the source claiming Tost was voting for Schumacher: https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/37926391/red-bull-boss-admits-horner-right-doubt-de-vries
I sure wonder who did AT miss on by signing DeVries?
My sense is that the front-runners were Schumacher (who Tost was pushing for based on the above ESPN article), Lawson/Hauger (who are the RB juniors closest to be ready for a callup), and Ricciardo who didn’t want the seat last year. I feel like Nyck was a dark horse who shook up the order last year, but I don’t think they really lost any options giving him a shot.