Daniil Kvyat has been named as Alpine’s reserve driver
March 4 2021 , 11:03 am
Daniil Kvyat has been named as Alpine’s reserve driver for this season following his release from AlphaTauri.
The news was confirmed on the day Alpine launched their A521 Formula 1 car, which will be driven by Esteban Ocon and, on his return to the sport from two years away, Fernando Alonso.
There had been no speculation that Kvyat would join up with Alpine and the announcement came as something of a bolt from the blue as he was pictured in the team’s colours.
The Russian driver was dropped by AlphaTauri at the end of last season to make way for Japanese rookie Yuki Tsunoda, who will partner Pierre Gasly in the forthcoming season.
Kvyat, 26, whose F1 racing career began in 2014 at Toro Rosso, had not given any indication about what his plans were for 2021, only that he planned on getting back onto the grid next year.
Since entering Formula 1, this is the second time Kvyat has found himself without a race seat – the previous occasion was in 2018 in between two of his three stints with Toro Rosso.
All of Kvyat’s 110 F1 starts have been for Red Bull or AlphaTauri/Toro Rosso and he has achieved three podium finishes.
Comments