Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has ruled out giving Daniil Kvyat another opportunity in Formula 1.
The Russian quickly made his way through the stable, joining Toro Rosso after winning the GP3 title in 2014 and then replacing Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull in 2015.
Ultimately, the rise of Max Verstappen saw Kvyat demoted in 2016 before being dropped entirely in 2017.
The 26-year-old though would return for a third stint at the junior team in 2019 but has now been replaced by Yuki Tsunoda for 2021.
“The topic is done for us,” Marko told Motorsport-Total.com on of Kvyat remains a future option.
“In the last two or three races, he showed some speed, but he was always clearly behind [Pierre] Gasly and with all the routine and experience he has, that’s too little.”
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Reflecting on his season, Kvyat admits his main problem was a slow start, as he struggled to adapt to the Red Bull-inspired AlphaTauri car.
“When that happens, you get frustrated very quickly,” he said.
“Maybe a few years ago it would have frustrated me even more, which would have severely affected my performance and motivation, but this year I stayed cool and worked hard.”
Indeed, as the year progressed Kvyat did close the gap, with a late charge top fourth at Imola the highlight.
“In the end I was right. I proved it worked, but I don’t want to talk too much about that because Pierre had a fantastic year too,” he added. We would only have been closer from the start.
“Sometimes he made it into Q3 and I was eliminated in Q2. I often thought to myself: ‘Shit!’. I would have liked to have fought with him in Q3.”
Kvyat has voiced optimism of returning to F1 in 2022, and at 26, despite the incredible career he’s already had, Daniil still has plenty of years in the tank.