Background: How Kvyat's rollercoaster ride in Formula 1 now seems to be at an end

The curtain now seems to have really fallen for Daniil Kvyat. He has to leave Formula 1 for the second time in his career, but he still hopes for a return. We take a brief look back at the rollercoaster ride that has been the Russian's career to date.

Russian karting junior talent

Born on April 26, 1994, in Ufa, Russia, Kvyat starts karting at a professional level at the age of eleven. In those first seasons, the young Russian immediately impresses and gets the chance to race for the team of Franco Pellegrini. To fully support his career, the Kvyat family moved to De Laars in 2007.

The more impression Kvyat makes on the track, the more attention there is for him off the track. The large Russian oil company Lukoil support him, but Helmut Marko has also set his sights on him and wants to test him in the Formula cars alongside another junior talent from the Red Bull training set-up: Carlos Sainz.

That first season in Formula BMW is not a great success. Robin Frijns is the winner of that year, while Red Bull talents Sainz and Kvyat end up in fourth and tenth place respectively, with Sainz winning one more race and Kvyat driving to second place in the last race of the season.

The Battle With Sainz

It is a precursor to a long rivalry because in 2011 these three will compete again. The Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 is won by Frijns, followed by Sainz and Kvyat, but the next order is different in the NEC variant. That is won by Sainz, with Kvyat on P2 and Frijns on P4.

In 2012 Kvyat won its first title, the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps. However, he does not have to beat big names. In the same year, he came second in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, behind Stoffel Vandoorne. In 2013 the title in the GP3 follows and that officially persuades Marko to bring the young Russian into Toro Rosso.

In 2014, Kvyat will make his Formula 1 debut alongside Jean-Eric Vergne, who drives around a bit frustrated after Daniel Ricciardo's promotion. Kvyat is fast, but scores eight points over a whole year, whereas the Frenchman scores 22 points. When Sebastian Vettel suddenly leaves, however, Vergne sees his teammate again being promoted to Red Bull Racing.

Verstappen gets the seat from Kvyat

Kvyat joined Red Bull alongside Daniel Ricciardo in 2015, his old rival will join Toro Rosso, alongside Max Verstappen. Kvyat also shows his speed at Red Bull and gives Ricciardo a hard time, but with ups and downs for Kvyat. He is on the podium in Hungary but also makes huge mistakes.

Those blunders cost him in 2016 when he comes into contact with Vettel in Russia. After earlier incidents, Vettel is done with it and is going to get redress with his old team. They listen and put Verstappen in Kvyat's car. Kvyat then watched in Barcelona passively and the Dutchman immediately took a victory in his first race.

In 2016, Kvyat is visibly struggling with Red Bull's decision. His former rival Sainz beats him, who, even though Kvyat has been able to drive four races for a top team, still scores more points (46 versus 25) throughout 2016. In 2017 that is not getting any better and Red Bull decides to put him aside for good.

Kvyat's roller-coaster ride comes to an end

Kvyat's Formula 1 career seems to have come to an end, but Toro Rosso come back to him in 2019. Brendon Hartley proved unsuccessful and Pierre Gasly was promoted to Red Bull Racing. Toro Rosso needs a second driver and takes Kvyat away from Ferrari as a test driver.

In 2019 we see a revived Kvyat who is visibly happy with his second chance. In the first half-year, he is stronger than Alexander Albon and he even takes a podium in Germany. However, when Gasly is sent back to Toro Rosso mid-season, it's Albon who gets the chance. After that, it quickly went downhill for Kvyat.

Whether it was the arrival of Gasly or the realisation that he would never have the chance at Red Bull again: Kvyat was no longer a shadow of himself and has been constantly beaten by the Frenchman since Gasly's return. In the last few races of 2020, Kvyat once again showed some of his pure speed, but the chance to conquer another place with a Formula 1 team seems to have been long gone.

Kvyat himself has already indicated that he is looking at a possible role as a test driver in 2021, to make another shot in 2022 for a full-time seat in Formula 1. It is very questionable. With some podiums, Kvyat's CV is not bad, but with the new generation at the front door, Kvyat seems to have had its chances.

This article was written and originally published by Tim on the Dutch edition of GPblog.com.