Following his exit from the Red Bull stable late last year, Daniil Kvyat has now joined the Ferrari development program for the 2018 season.
The Russian driver had a turbulent final 18 months with the Austrian energy drinks giant, firstly losing his seat at the senior team following his home race in Sochi in 2016 and suffering a major confidence drop.
Finally, he would be replaced at Toro Rosso by Pierre Gasly from last year’s Malaysian Grand Prix before making a final one-off return for the junior team in Austin.
Since it was confirmed he would be dropped by Red Bull, he has received support from ex-teammates Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo, both of whom believe the 23-year-old deserves another chance.
However, motorsport advisor Helmut Marko admitted a number of incidents, which led to his nickname of the ‘torpedo’, ultimately, led to his exit.
Now part of the Scuderia, Kvyat has a path back to F1 with future opportunities at Haas and Sauber possible and there will likely be chances for the two-time podium sitter to compete in sportscars along with helping Ferrari with simulator work.
It won’t be lost on many that he is also now back working alongside Sebastian Vettel, the man he replaced at Red Bull in 2015 and also the man he clashed with on the opening lap in Russia two years ago.
Kvyat is also not the first driver to be given a Ferrari development driver role after leaving the Red Bull program as Jean-Eric Vergne also moved to Maranello before eventually focusing full-time on Formula E.