Stoffel Vandoorne has tipped his former teammate Nyck de Vries to rescue his flailing motor racing career.
Dutchman de Vries, a former Formula E champion who was paired with Vandoorne at the works Mercedes team, was dumped by Alpha Tauri owner Red Bull just ten races into his first full season in Formula 1.
"Unfortunately it often happens a bit like that in F1," said Belgian Vandoorne, whose own F1 career was cut short after struggling alongside Fernando Alonso at McLaren some years ago.
"Either it can go very well, or it can go very badly," the 31-year-old told RTBF.
"I think everyone expected to see great things from Nyck, but the car was not performing at all, so it’s very difficult to get noticed like that.
"Unfortunately he had a very difficult time, and we also know how it goes with the Red Bull clan. It’s often like this.
"But Nyck is still a great guy and I think he will find something else in motorsport," Vandoorne added.