The Scuderia Toro Rosso team has confirmed that Danii Kvyat will not be racing at the upcoming Malaysian Grand Prix and beyond, instead Red Bull young driver Pierre Gasly will be taking the Russian driver's place alongside Carlos Sainz, who leaves for Renault at the end of the year.
Gasly has been racing in Japan this year in the Super Formula category.
The 2016 GP2 Champion finished second in last Sunday's race, having won the two previous rounds.
The 21 year old will therefore get his chance to prove himself in F1.
“I would like to thank everyone who has helped me get this chance in my motor racing career and specifically, Red Bull, Dr. Helmut Marko and Scuderia Toro Rosso…this is a great opportunity for me,” he said. “I feel as ready as I can be, having had to be prepared for anything in my role as Red Bull Racing's third driver this year. I will do my best to perform well with Scuderia Toro Rosso during these coming races.”
This is not a case of goodbye for our Daniil, as he still remains part of the Red Bull Family, however the team fully believes that Danii has not been able to show his true potential this season, hence the replacement as they try to figure out their best options for the upcoming 2018 F1 Championship season.
“Scuderia Toro Rosso was established by Red Bull to bring youngsters from its Junior Programme into Formula 1 and that's what we are doing by giving Pierre this chance. He is the next in line at Red Bull for this opportunity and he has shown that he deserves it, having taken the 2016 GP2 title and this year being very competitive in the Super Formula series in Japan,” explained Franz Tost.
“He really has a valid chance of winning the title, as he is only half a point behind the leader. The driver switch gives us an opportunity to make a more informed decision regarding our 2018 driver choices.”
“For a variety of reasons, some of them due to technical problems, but others being mistakes of his own making, Daniil Kvyat has not really shown his true potential so far this year, which is why we are standing him down for the next races. This will give us the opportunity to evaluate Pierre on track during a proper race weekend.”
