Kvyat joins Ferrari as development driver

Former Red Bull and Toro Rosso protege Daniil Kvyat will continue to play a role in F1 in 2018 after Ferrari announced that the Russian has joined them as a development driver.

Kvyat lost his drive at Toro Rosso following last November’s United States Grand Prix in Austin, with Helmut Marko later confirming that the 23-year-old had also left the Red Bull driver pool.

That left Kvyat with no drive and an uncertain future in Grand Prix racing - until Ferrari swooped to secure his services ahead of their 2018 campaign.

A veteran of 72 Grand Prix starts, Kvyat made his debut with Toro Rosso in 2014, becoming the then-youngest points scorer in F1 history when, aged 19, he finished ninth in Australia.

A move to Red Bull followed in 2015, with the Russian scoring one podium and outscoring team mate Daniel Ricciardo over the year. Another rostrum finish followed in early 2016 before a messy race in Russia - during which he punted new Ferrari team mate Sebastian Vettel out of the race - after which Kvyat was demoted back to Toro Rosso, with Max Verstappen moving in the other direction.

His arrival at Ferrari follows a season in which he scored just five points in 15 races, though he remains highly rated by many within the sport, including former team principal Franz Tost.

"I am still convinced that Daniil has a very high natural speed," Tost told F1.com recently. "Maybe a short break – to get organised again – and probably we will see Daniil back at his usual performance level with another team."