Can Kvyat be the next big thing in F1?

Toro Rosso are the latest Formula 1 team to announce their 2014 line-up, with Daniil Kvyat and Jean-Eric Vergne filling the seats in the Italian side.

After September’s announcement that Daniel Ricciardo, the 24-year-old Australian, would be moving to Red Bull Racing, there had been some speculation about who would join the team alongside Jean Eric-Vergne for next year’s (already) eagerly-anticipated season.

19-year-old Kvyat was an unexpected choice for Toro Rosso, who had been rumoured to select Formula Renault 3.5 driver Antonio Felix da Costa as their replacement.

However, they opted for the Russian driver following da Costa’s poor performance this year. Another alleged option for the Italian team was Carlos Sainz Jr who impressed Toro Rosso team bosses in his GP3 career and test-drives.

Instead Kvyat, (pictured above), moves up to Formula 1 from the GP3 Series where he has enjoyed five pole positions, seven podiums, and his maiden race win at Zandvoort last month. Nicknamed ‘the Russian’ by Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, Kvyat will be expected to step up in 2014 as he moves from his MW Arden car in what will be an intriguing season for Formula 1 following new regulations, engine changes and other driver changes ahead of the new season.

Toro Rosso appears to be a place of nurture for prospective Red Bull drivers; with Kyvat already showing such potential it is worth pondering where he will end up in a few years’ time

Although in the Formula 1 arena Kvyat is relatively unknown, the 19-year old has turned heads after his dominance at Monza where he gained the pole position, then won the race and set the race record for fastest lap. It is not too surprising, then, based on his race record in the lower division that team bosses at Toro Rosso selected Kvyat to join Vergne.

As noted, this decision to partner Kvyat with Vergne should not be too much of a shock with him being a fellow graduate from the Red Bull Junior Programme. The typical route for Toro Rosso drivers has been through this scheme with Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo also progressing from the programme to a seat in recent years.

Toro Rosso appears to be a place of nurture for prospective Red Bull drivers; with Kyvat already showing such potential it is worth pondering where he will end up in a few years’ time. After all, ex-Toro Rosso driver Vettel is now in line to secure his fourth World Championship.

Thus far, transfers of drivers have included Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen’s return to Ferrari alongside Fernando Alonso, and Ricciardo’s promotion to Mark Webber’s seat ahead of his departure to race Porsche sports cars.

Thus a move to Lotus for Nico Hulkenberg has been strongly speculated about, with some believing that the contract has actually been signed. Indeed, one Sky Sports F1 presenter has revealed that he knows the details of the transfer, although they have not been confirmed.

Furthermore, 18-year-old Sergey Sirotkin is expected to replace Hulkenberg at Sauber if ‘the Hulk’s’ move takes place. Rumours of Rubens Barrichello returning to F1 through the ‘free’ Sauber seat have been dispelled.

In fact, Barrichello may not be returning to the sport at all in 2014, as he hinted that his quality of life in the Brazilian stock car championship is much better. “What you lose in one hand, you gain in the other,” he told the media recently.

At present, Ferrari driver Felipe Massa does not have a seat amidst rumours that Mexican Sergio Perez may be ousted from his McLaren seat in favour of the Brazilian. Meanwhile, rumours of Mercedes team principal, Ross Brawn, also moving to McLaren have been crushed. At the same time, talks of his retirement at the end of this season have yet to be denied.

While the list of Formula 1 drivers for 2014 is not yet complete, we are starting to see that next season will be very different from the current one. The Toro Rosso, Red Bull and Ferrari seats have been filled, and more transfers are expected to be announced soon on the Formula 1 merry-go-round. Sit back and enjoy the show.