Daniil Kvyat may have been kicked out of the Red Bull family, but his career in Formula One may not be over yet. At least, not entirely.
According to Autosport, the Russian driver has been picked up by Ferrari – not for a race seat, mind you, but as a development driver.
Once a promising prospect, Kvyat proved his worth on his way up the ladder, winning titles in Formula Renault 2.0 and GP3. He debuted as a test driver at the final grands prix of 2013 with Toro Rosso and got the race seat the next season, where he showed form impressive enough to get promoted to the front-running Red Bull team to replace Sebastian Vettel in 2015.
A second-place finish that season in Hungary and another podium in China early the next weren’t enough to keep his seat, though, so he was bumped back down to Toro Rosso mid-season, switching seats with Max Verstappen. His performance has continued to drop off ever since, to the point that he was replaced mid-season again, losing out to Pierre Gasly and Brandon Hartley for a seat next season.
Kvyat reportedly approached Williams about the last vacancy on the grid, but that’s now believed to go to his less experienced countryman Sergey Sirotkin. The deal that Kvyat has hammered out with Ferrari instead will likely see him working the simulator in Maranello, but could put him behind the wheel on an actual track at official test sessions or Friday practices – or even, potentially, stepping in for Vettel or Raikkonen should the need arise (as it did following Felipe Massa’s injury in 2009).
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