Kvyat to return to Toro Rosso in 2019
Scuderia Toro Rosso announced it will be welcoming back Daniil Kvyat to its driver line-up for 2019. The 24-year-old Russian will replace Pierre Gasly, who is moving to the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing team. Kvyat has driven for Toro Rosso twice before, in 2014, and again rejoining us from the 2016 Spanish GP to the 2017 United States GP.
His performances at the time first saw him relegated back from Red Bull to Toro Rosso, before eventually being removed from Red Bull's F1 programme. However, the Russian is now set to make a surprise return as he was preferred among many more candidates for the seat.
"I would like to thank Red Bull and Toro Rosso for giving me this opportunity", said Daniil Kvyat.
"I am particularly pleased to be returning to a team I know very well. Toro Rosso has always made me feel at home and I’m sure it will still be the same next season.
"I would also like to thank Ferrari for trusting my driving skills which allowed me to stay connected to F1 as their development driver. Even if my duties were primarily simulator based, I’ve learnt a lot, and I now feel stronger and better prepared than when I left Toro Rosso. I never gave up hope of racing again, I am still young and I have kept in good shape to always be prepared in case another opportunity presented itself. I will give my best to deliver what the team expects from me and I can’t wait for everything to start again.”
Toro Rosso's team principal, Franz Tost on the other hand underlined the Russian deserved another chance in F1 when Gasly will be promoted to Red Bull Racing.
“Pierre Gasly’s impressive performance since he made his F1 debut last year has landed him a drive with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing next year. It is well deserved and from a Toro Rosso point of view, I am pleased that, once again, a driver from Helmut Marko’s Red Bull Junior Programme has stepped up to Red Bull Racing - mission accomplished!
"As for Daniil’s return, I believe he deserves another chance in Formula 1. Daniil is a high skilled driver with fantastic natural speed, which he has proven several times in his career. There were some difficult situations he had to face in the past, but I’m convinced that having had time to mature as a person away from the races will help him show his undeniable capabilities on track. We’ll push very hard to provide him with a good package, and I feel the best is yet to come from his side. That’s why we are happy to welcome him back to our team, to start a successful season together.”
