The Torpedo is back at Toro Rosso
With a now depleted young driver program, Toro Rosso was forced to call on the old guard. Thus, Daniil Kvyat will make his return to Faenza after a season of purgatory as a test driver with Ferrari.
In F1, you must know not to be picky when an opportunity arises. Thus, after being demoted from Red Bull to Toro Rosso, and subsequently also ousted from the Italian team in favor of Pierre Gasly, Daniil Kvyat has been recalled by the energy drink company to return to service next season.
If the Red Bull decided to recall the Torpedo, a nickname earned from repeated clashes at the start with Sebastian Vettel, it’s because they didn’t necessarily have other solutions. Indeed, Daniel Ricciardo’s departure to Renault allowed Pierre Gasly to receive a nice promotion.
But the reservoir of young talent is now almost empty, as illustrated by the recall of Brendon Hartley, several years after asking the New Zealander to pursue other adventures, far from F1.
The question of the second seat is still relevant since the team made sure to specify that the Russian was indeed replacing the Frenchman, without making any reference to their other driver. Announced during his home race in Sochi, the 24-year-old driver highlighted that his year with Ferrari had been beneficial: “I would also like to thank Ferrari for trusting me, which allowed me to stay connected to F1 as their development driver. Even though my functions were mainly related to the simulator, I learned a lot there. I now feel stronger and better prepared than when I left Toro Rosso.”
He will have succeeded where Jean-Eric Vergne had failed: the Frenchman had also tried to join the Scuderia only to find that the doors to F1 were now completely closed to him. His career transition was quite successful, as he became a Formula E world champion.
With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr
