Mercedes superstar Lewis Hamilton was shocked to see Nyck de Vries removed from his AlphaTauri seat, but the 38-year-old thinks that it's just the way Red Bull runs their racing operations.

"I was definitely surprised to see the decision they took with poor Nyck. He's such a talented young man and such a nice guy as well," the seven-time world champion said.

Hamilton thinks that de Vries' future is still bright, and he will have a lot of great options in the future. When asked if the situation is just how Formula 1 works, the Brit answered, "I'd say that's how Red Bull works."

The Dutch driver debuted his one-off Formula 1 race during the 2022 Italian Grand Prix for Williams Racing, substituting for Alexander Albon after the Thai driver suffered appendicitis.

De Vries finished the race in P9, scoring points for the team and impressing Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko, who made the performance his reason for giving the 2023 AlphaTauri seat to the Dutchman.

De Vries' full-time F1 gig does not go as planned

After an impressive debut in Monza, de Vries was given the vacant 2023 AlphaTauri seat left by Pierre Gasly, who was bound for Alpine.

However, he failed to score a single point for the team in ten races, with a P12 finish in Monaco being his highest.

AlphaTauri's car is also one of the least competitive in the gird, despite sharing the same engine manufacturer with sister team Red Bull, who has the most dominant car right now and has swept all races this season.