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19yo Daniil Kvyat to join Toro Rosso in 2014

Daniil Kvyat

Young Russian driver Daniil Kvyat will replace our Daniel at Toro Rosso in 2014. The 19-year-old is part of the Red Bull Junior Driver Programme and has been spending 2013 racing in the GP3 and Formula 3 categories.

Kvyat drives for the Mark Webber–Christian Horner outfit, MW Arden, in the GP3 series and is currently seven points behind Facu Regalia in the chase for the drivers’ title. There’s one race meeting to go, in Abu Dhabi, and Kvyat will be hoping he can progress to Formula 1 with a championship in his kit bag.

Toro Rosso Team Principal, Franz Tost, says Kvyat is ready to graduate to the senior class. “He impressed our team with a strong performance and very informative technical feedback at the young driver test in Silverstone,” he said. “This suggests that the basic qualities from which he can progress are all in place. Daniil can be sure that we will use all our experience of training youngsters to give him the best possible start to his Formula 1 career.”

Like most youngsters Kvyat has harboured F1 ambitions throughout his career and is excited at the challenge ahead. “This is fantastic news, a dream come true and I want to thank Red Bull and Toro Rosso for giving me this priceless opportunity,” Kvyat said. “Ever since I began karting, I wanted to get to Formula 1 and now that wish will become reality next season.”

We’d like to think the fact the Russian Grand Prix is set to make its debut on the 2014 F1 calendar had nothing to do with this decision, but we’re too cynical for that.

GP3 is a relatively new series, its debut season was in 2010. Kvyat becomes the fourth driver to move from GP3 to F1 and follows the path of new teammate Jean-Eric Vergne, as well as Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) and Valtteri Bottas (Williams).

Vergne will no doubt be pleased to learn that he has kept his F1 dream alive and will continue with Toro Rosso in 2014.

Daniil Kvyat

Scuderia Toro Rosso 2014 driver line-up

Scuderia Toro Rosso is pleased to announce that Daniil Kvyat will drive for the team from the start of the 2014 Formula 1 season, as the replacement for Daniel Ricciardo, who moves to Infiniti Red Bull Racing. Kvyat, another product of the Red Bull Junior Driver Programme, will therefore partner Jean-Eric Vergne in our driver line-up. This year, the 19 year old Russian, who is based in Rome, has been competing in GP3 and the FIA Formula 3 European Championship.

Franz Tost: “We are pleased to continue our policy of bringing on drivers from the Red Bull Junior Programme. Daniil is a very talented driver, which can be seen from his results in all the junior categories. He was a very successful kart driver and, in 2012, he took the Formula Renault 2.0 Championship title with seven wins. This year, he competed in six rounds of the FIA European Formula 3 Championship, taking 1 win, 5 poles and 5 podiums. In addition to this, he is still in a position to win the GP 3 Championship, as he is only seven points behind the leader. He impressed our team with a strong performance and very informative technical feedback at the young driver test in Silverstone. This suggests that the basic qualities from which he can progress are all in place. Daniil can be sure that we will use all our experience of training youngsters to give him the best possible start to his Formula 1 career.”

Daniil Kvyat: “This is fantastic news, a dream come true and I want to thank Red Bull and Toro Rosso for giving me this priceless opportunity. Ever since I began karting, I wanted to get to Formula 1 and now that wish will become reality next season. I had a brief taste of working with the Toro Rosso team, when I drove for them at the Silverstone test and I enjoyed the experience very much. The fact I am based in Italy and speak Italian will, I am sure, help me to become part of the team very quickly.”

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