Daniil Kvyat learned a few months later that he had lost his Red Bull F1 seat following refusing to sign a contract with Scuderia Ferrari. Russian-born Daniil Kvyat, who went through Red Bull’s junior driver programme, completed just one full season with Red Bull Racing before moving in 2016.
Kvyat, who finished seventh in the 2015 championship, was replaced following just four races by a young Max Verstappen, who won his first race with Red Bull Racing. While Verstappen’s star was rising, Kvyat’s star was heading in the opposite direction. He returned to Toro Rosso following being relegated, but lost his seat to Pierre Gasly in 2017 with six races to go. Kvyat then spent a year as Ferrari’s reserve driver before returning to Toro Rosso to finish his final season as a Formula 1 driver in 13th and 14th. However, the 28-year-old Kvyat said losing his Red Bull seat hurt more than many realized because he had just rejected a contract with Ferrari. Kvyat said he chose to stay at Red Bull even though Ferrari had nominated him to replace Kimi Raikkonen. “I was performing really well,” Kvyat told the Track Limits podcast. “And I had just scored another podium for the team[at the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix]and around that time there was also an offer to replace Kimi and race for Ferrari. That was going on behind the curtain.” It was a very difficult situation for me mentally, when I was nominated by Toro Rosso and was looking at the contract, but suddenly I returned to Toro Rosso and suddenly it didn’t work out.” , Carlos Sainz, was one of the most talented drivers to emerge from the Red Bull Academy in the 2010s, but unlike the aforementioned, might not find a way back to F1.1 as a reserve driver for the Alpine F1 team. I last raced with the newly branded AlphaTauri in 2020 before going all year. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made any chance of a return even more difficult, with the FIA banning Russian national drivers from participating unless they fly the flag of neutrality. Kvyat then entered the WEC with Prema Racing, finishing third in the first event of the 2023 season. In 2024, it has been decided to participate in the Lamborghini factory team.
