Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat will be replaced by Max Verstappen for the rest of the season, starting at the Spanish Grand Prix
The Russian driver had a terrible race at his home event on Sunday when he crashed into Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel twice in the space of two corners.
Verstappen will step up from sister team Toro Rosso with Kvyat going the other way.
Christian Horner, Red Bull’s team principal said in a statement: "Max has proven to be an outstanding young talent. His performance at Toro Rosso has been impressive so far and we are pleased to give him the opportunity to drive for Red Bull Racing.
"We are in the unique position to have all four drivers across Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso under long term contracts with Red Bull, so we have the flexibility to move them between the two teams.
"Dany will be able to continue his development at Toro Rosso, in a team that he is familiar with, giving him the chance to regain his form and show his potential."
Red Bull Formula One driver Daniil Kvyat of Russia - Reuters
Kvyat was described by Red Bull team principle as "the real deal" just last year when he was chosen to replace Vettel at Red Bull - so why drop him after such a brief spell?
The answer is simple. Kvyat has shown himself to be a liability in the last few weeks.
The first incident came at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, when the young Russian came steaming up on Sebastian Vettel and forced the Ferrari driver to swerve into his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, effectively ending any chance for the two damaged Ferraris to challenge Nico Rosberg.
The fall-out from that was bad enough - not helped, it must be said, but Kvyat smirking after the race as Vettel confronted him while the pair were waiting to go onto the podium.
But far worse was to come during Sunday's Russian Grand Prix: Kvyat went into the back of Vettel not once but twice, and at the second time of asking Vettel was sent spinning off the track and into a wall.
Verstappen's delight
In the space of a year, Max Verstappen has gone from becoming the youngest-ever F1 driver (at the age of 17) to earning himself a chance in one of the biggest, best-funded teams in motorsport.
No wonder he sounded pleased:
"The next step in my relatively short career so far, is an amazing opportunity," he said in a statement on his website.
Scuderia Toro Rosso's Belgian-Dutch driver Max Verstappen, now at Red Bull - AFP
"I really want to thank Red Bull and Dr. Helmut Marko for the confidence they have in me. I'll have the chance to learn a lot from the top team that is Red Bull Racing. I'm also looking forward to work with an experienced and proven team mate like Daniel Ricciardo.
"I can't thank all the people at Scuderia Toro Rosso enough for all their hard work. Everyone back at the factory in Faenza, and [team principal] Franz Tost in particular, have made an amazing contribution to get me this far in my career. We've had an amazing time together."
Is dropping Kvyat the right thing to do?
Absolutely. In the space of two races, Kvyat has given Red Bull (and himself) a bad name. At the very least, he could do with half a dozen races to cool off before being let back into Red Bull's top car.
And there's every chance he will be, should he improve. It's not a particularly odd thing for Red Bull to move switch drivers, with Torro Rosso only really kept running as a scouting ground for young talent.
Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull) - GP of Russia 2016 - AFP
As with all sports, not all young talent necessarily develops into A-team material, and it's not just the recent errors that have forced Red Bull's widely regarded "ruthless" motorsport director Helmut Marko to put Kvyat into the second string car.
That's because Kvyat's performance is also under scrutiny. Kvyat may have scored more points than team mate Daniel Ricciardo, but has tailed the Australian in qualifying for all but one race this season - one in which Ricciardo suffered a puncture.
Then there's the other factor here: Verstappen is widely thought to be one of F1's great emerging talents, and is experiencing a great season so far - comfortably outpacing his team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr.
So as well as giving Kvyat a rap over the knuckles, this could also be a gesture to help keep Verstappen on-side at Red Bull, where he is only under contract until 2017.
Max Verstappen of The Netherlands and Carlos Sainz of Spain, both of Scuderia Toro Rosso - AFP
This will no doubt be a huge disappointment for the youngster, but clearly it makes sense to cool the situation with Vettel down, and also give Verstappen a chance to take the step up.
Yet there's every reason to think that Kvyat has enough talent to turn things around after stepping down into the junior team. And should Verstappen fail to make the most of this chance, the Russian could be ready and waiting to jump back in to the hotseat.
Daniil Kvyat during qualifying in Sochi - AFP
Kevin Coulson / Jen Offord
Source: Eurosport Asia
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