Carlos Sainz has backed former teammate Daniil Kvyat to make a return to Formula 1 amid rumours of a surprise comeback with Toro Rosso in 2019.
A year ago, a crash in Singapore would be the final straw as the Russian was ousted from the junior Red Bull team and replaced by Pierre Gasly, later making a final one-off outing at the US Grand Prix in Austin.
It brought to an end a devastating 18 months which had seen him replaced at Red Bull by Max Verstappen and out-performed by Sainz during their time together at the Italian team.
Even so: "I do feel Dany is one of the most talented drivers I’ve ever raced against,” Sainz told Motorsport.com.
“When he left F1, I don’t know why, I had this feeling that he one day he would make it back.
“I actually told my manager, I told my dad: ‘I have this feeling that this guy is not over yet, that he is going to come back’."
The Spaniard's own career took an unexpected path, heading to Renault from the Japanese Grand Prix where has been since but will now jump ship to McLaren for next season.
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Focusing back on Kvyat, who has spent this year in the Ferrari development program, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko recently also talked up the prospect of a return, believing the year or so since his exit has been beneficial.
“I would say he is more mature," he said. "But we are not in a hurry with Toro Rosso. We will solve our driver problems. We have a big list of names, and we’ll see.”
