Any other team ejecting its rookie driver after less than half a season would have caused a serious stir in Formula 1.
But the fact that de Vries' removal from Red Bull's second team AlphaTauri was almost greeted with a sense of inevitability speaks volumes on the company's - and in particular advisor Helmut Marko's - notorious lack of patience once one of its drivers fails to deliver.
There is plenty of precedence for Red Bull keeping its youngsters on a short leash. Daniil Kvyat lasted only four races into the 2016 season at Red Bull before being swapped with Toro Rosso's Max Verstappen.
PLUS: British Grand Prix Driver Ratings
In that case, Red Bull was vindicated by the Dutchman winning the very next race and going on to become a dominant factor in F1, but Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon had perhaps more reason to be aggrieved than Kvyat.
Gasly's promotion from Toro Rosso to Red Bull lasted just 12 races in 2019 before being sent back to Faenza. His replacement Alex Albon too struggled to gel in a team and car built around Verstappen, being dropped entirely after a season and a half.
If Gasly and Albon were right to feel burnt by their brief spell at the main team, then Yuki Tsunoda is a rarer example of Red Bull's nurturing patience.
Honda protege Tsunoda too struggled mightily with a lack of consistency during his debut year, but he received the support he needed and after a move from the UK to Faenza the Japanese youngster was able to turn his flashes of speed into a more stable presence. He then secured two consecutive contract extensions and is now being seen by several of his peers as one of the standout drivers of the 2023 season.
Source: Autosport