Red Bull team boss Christian Horner believes it is fair that Daniil Kvyat has been given what is his third opportunity with Toro Rosso in 2019.
During the Russian Grand Prix weekend, the 24-year-old was announced as a driver for the junior team next season with his return coming just short of a year since he was dropped completely by Red Bull after the United States Grand Prix of 2017.
That departure brought to an end a tenuous 18-month period for Kvyat, whose fall from grace first began after he was demoted back to Toro Rosso before the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix and continued with a number of incidents earning him the nickname of the ‘Torpedo’.
“It’s a good thing for Dany,” said Horner to Sky Sports this past weekend in Sochi. “I spent some time with him over the summer. He’s in a good space and I think he’s had time to go away from F1, from the limelight of F1 and reflect.
“It was a big thing for him in 2016 when he got effectively dropped from the senior team to the junior team, and I don’t think he ever got his head fully around that.
“I think actually a bit of time away, a bit of reflection… he’s got the speed. He’s won championships for us in GP3. 2015, he had some very good races.
“I think he deserves a second chance, and it’ll be interesting to see what he can do.”
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The line that Kvyat is a changed man is one echoed by Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko as he explains the somewhat humbling decision to bring back the 24-year-old.
“Daniil changed, he is a far more mature personality,” the Austrian claimed.
“He was working with a different team, so he saw the whole atmosphere and working program and he also found out how difficult it is to get an F1 seat.
“We will give him a third chance because we always believed he’s very fast but his mental problems, I think he has solved.
“He is a far more mature driver, and I’m sure we will see some very positive races from him.”