Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, Singapore, 2019

Kvyat will stay at Toro Rosso in 2020, says Marko

2020 F1 season

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Daniil Kvyat will continue to drive for Toro Rosso in the 2020 F1 season, according to Red Bull’s motorsport consultant Helmut Marko.

While Red Bull is yet to confirm who will partner Max Verstappen at the team next year, Marko indicated it will come down to a choice between current occupant Alexander Albon and Pierre Gasly, whom Albon replaced two races ago.

“Kvyat is confirmed for next year already [at Toro Rosso], at least internally it’s clear,” Marko told Sky. “Then it’s between Gasly and Albon.”

Marko indicated the team will decide how to proceed with its 2020 driver line-up following the Mexican Grand Prix at the end of next month.

Kvyat joined Toro Rosso in 2014. After being promoted to Red Bull the following year he returned to the team five races into 2016. He was then dropped by Toro Rosso late in 2017, only to return again at the beginning of this season.

He has started 63 races for Toro Rosso, more than any other driver in the team’s history. His third-place finish for the team in this year’s German Grand Prix was only the second time in Toro Rosso’s 14-year history that one of its cars has reached the podium.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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18 comments on “Kvyat will stay at Toro Rosso in 2020, says Marko”

  1. Interesting. Christian Horner has just said to Sky, right this very second on the live coverage, that all three are under consideration.

    1. We should take anything they both say with a pillar of salt.

      1. Always true @gufdamm, but I think in this case, dr. Marko usually overrules Horner on driver choices @mouse_nightshirt; perhaps internaly means between him and Mateschitz, and Tost is okay with it while Horner will be told the result after Mexico ;)

    2. @mouse_nightshirt, if Red Bull are going to stick with their policy of recruiting only from within, their current drivers are basically the only drivers they can field in F1.

      If you look at their junior team, the only driver who might be able to claim a superlicence right now is Juri Vips – none of the others are remotely close to meeting the minimum threshold for a superlicence.

      If you look at the other drivers they have signed to their programme, the only one who is even remotely close to qualifying for a superlicence after that is Dennis Hauger, but he’s still a long way down the ladder – he’s only competing in Formula 4 right now (and before anybody puts him forward, O’Ward has zero superlicence points – all of the series he has competed in have failed to meet any of the FIA’s minimum criteria and therefore will not grant him a single superlicence point).

      Even then, Vips is at risk of falling short – he’s now falling short in Formula 3, having slipped back to 3rd in the championship: he could get a superlicence if he applies this year and can hold onto 3rd in his Formula 3 championship, but if he doesn’t get it now, he’ll be short of points in 2020 as his 12 points from his Formula 4 title expire at the end of this year.

      Realistically, unless they can find a former Junior Team driver who is eligible – and I don’t think that is the case – then they have no real option but to stick with their current line ups. True, there is the question of which driver to put alongside Verstappen, but I personally think that Red Bull are going to stick with their current line ups at both Toro Rosso and Red Bull – I can’t see what incentive they have to change either line up right now.

  2. good – he deserves the seat

      1. Totally agree!

  3. If this is true, then if after Haas’s announcement (about retaining Grosjean and not hiring Hulkenberg) Gasly was just panicking in moderate amount, then now after Kvyat’s announcement he must be in full panic mode.

  4. I’m glad for the russian that he’ll get another year. Slightly off topic, but am I the only one to think that Gasly is in fact doing a good job since he’s back at Toro Rosso? I mean, he also jumped mid-year in a car he had never driven and he’s straight matching if not beating Kvyat. Not sure what is going on with that Red Bull car and it’s sure too soon to judge Albon, but seems like the car is quite tricky to drive and only VER is so far getting the speed out of it. For sure, a 6 tenth gap between VER and GAS/ALB is not normal, whatever you think of Verstappen…

    1. He absolutely is, but don’t you see what’s the problem with gasly, fisichella and frentzen? They can drive average cars very well, but give them a top car and they’ll fail, gasly if the theory is right will never be a proper top driver, can only drive midfield cars well.

      1. Also at singapore it IS normal, hamilton routinely beats bottas by 7 tenths in q3.

  5. We’ll have to see but so far Kvyat has done the best job at that red bull out of the three. Gasly was a disappointment and not the kind of disappointment that goes away after one more year at toro rosso. It is the permanent type of being slow I think. Albon is struggling but mid season seat swaps are notoriously difficult and only the best drivers can make them work.

    Red bull needs to make a decision quickly though. Hulk is searching for a seat and he won’t wait until the end of times to get a solid answer from red bull be that decision either way. Come season end and his name will be on some paper somewhere else. This puts a time limit on albon who red bull needs to study closely to see if the gap to verstappen is getting smaller or staying where it is. If there is no signs for improvement for albon then it is question of hulk or kvyat at red bull.

    Kvyat’s biggest issue is that if he is put into the red bull then it is unlikely toro rosso will keep both gasly and albon. Who are they going to put into that other toro rosso? They are already low on drivers and they really can not afford to lose them. But at the same time they would have two drivers who they know will never get another chance at red bull. Gasly and albon. Both of which may in the future have lost their seat because of lack of pace. Kvyat lost his seat simply to make way for verstappen. His speed was basically fine. This makes his case different.

    In the end red bull would have two drivers at toro rosso who have failed at the only thing toro rosso exists for which is to find the best talents for f1 and then beam them up to the red bull mothership. Hulk solves this issue nicely either which way. At red bull he makes it easy for red bull to fire one of the slow drivers without having to find another one. Red bull could even have try outs (batman reference!). Put them into old v8 bangers and make them do hotlapping and race simulations around redbull ring. Winner gets the red bull seat. Surely that kind of test is worth doing just from the championship points money perspective alone. Marko may disagree as he probably thinks he already knows the answer without the tests. I’d say his last picks for red bull have proven otherwise.

  6. To be outqualified by Gasly by 0.9s in Singapore is not a glowing case for retention. I spent basically most of the season criticising Gasly, but in that Toro Rosso, he’s been more impressive than Kvyat in an unfamiliar car. Which really begs the question, is Kvyat really that bad? Or was it really a case of Gasly is exceptionally quick, but just couldn’t find the sweet spot with the Red Bull?

    1. You do realise Kvyat lost practically all of FP3, where he could have fine tuned his setup, and came straight back to qualifying after an engine change and with a limited opportunity to fine tune the car.

    2. He lost his new engine in FP3 right on lap 2. And he stuck behind the traffic in Qualification.

  7. I think RB will not hire Hulk. He’s the best available outside of the RB family, but not enough to compete at Verstappen level. So probably they will wait an easier car next year to see if some between Gasly and Albon is able enough to stay closer to Max.
    Maybe at mid season next year, if none of them will be fast enough, they will change their mind and look outside is group and consider Hulk. Or they will wait for Vettel.

  8. Silly decision IMO, gasly is a fisichella or frentzen type driver, will always be good on a mid car, never on a good car, so he should be already out of consideration for red bull, the choice should be between albon and kvyat.

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