One of the changes that took place at Red Bull sister-team AlphaTauri this year was the replacement of Daniil Kvyat with Yuki Tsunoda. The Russian driver now goes without a seat for the 2021 F1 season.

Kvyat played a few good cameos in the course of this year’s campaign. However, he largely remained in the lower midfield positions, which were deemed not good enough by the Red Bull group.

Red Bull motorsport advisor Dr. Helmut Marko briefly explained the group’s decision to replace him with the young Japanese F2 racer. Clearly, Kvyat will now have to look out for opportunities at other F1 teams.

Marko credits Kvyat for his speed in the ‘last two or three races’

Speaking in an interview, Marko stated, “He showed the last two or three races partly with speed.” (translated via Google Translate)

The 26-year-old had a few strong performances in the end. From an overall big picture perspective, it did not prove to be enough for him to retain his seat at the team.

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“With all the routine and experience that he has, that is not enough. The subject is settled for us,” concluded the Red Bull motorsport advisor.

Kvyat’s best showing came during the brilliant race at Imola. Having lost Gasly because of a coolant issue, AlphaTauri needed the Russian to step up and deliver. Eventually, he brought home a P4 and came incredibly close to sealing a podium finish as well.

Kvyat spent six years with the Red Bull family racing at both teams

Daniil might just be one of the longest names to have sustained his place at the extremely competitive and demanding Red Bull racing group. His first appearance came in 2014 for Toro Rosso, before moving up to the main team after just one season.

Kvyat had a decent 2020 season with the team, finishing just one point behind Sebastian Vettel. Regardless, AlphaTauri believe Tsunoda has more potential to fulfill, and hence, he now gets the opportunity.

One will hope then that this is merely a temporary absence from the sport for Kvyat. Hopefully, ahead of 2022, there are teams that would have an interest in landing him as a full-time, or at the very least, a test driver.