Franz Tost revealed that Scuderia Toro Rosso lost confidence in the ability of Daniil Kvyat to be a regular points scorer, which led to him being dropped from his ride in Formula 1 and from the Red Bull programme.
Kvyat was twice dropped by Toro Rosso in 2017, firstly at the Malaysian Grand Prix to allow Pierre Gasly to make his debut, and despite returning to the STR12 for the United States Grand Prix, the Russian was again dropped for the Mexican Grand Prix to allow Gasly return to partner Brendon Hartley.
Toro Rosso team principal Tost felt the team lost confidence in the driver, and likewise Kvyat was far from confident in the team, and it was decided it was best for both parties to go their separate ways having expected more from one another.
“The season from Daniil this year was very unfortunate,” said Tost to Motorsport.com. “There were a lot of technical problems which were not in the hands of Daniil, he couldn’t do anything.
“But he also made some driver errors. After Austin, he had five points. If you compare it with Carlos [Sainz Jr.], although he was not racing with us in Austin, he had 54 points.
“Both parties lost confidence in each other. In such a situation, it’s better to say OK, we stop the cooperation and this gives Daniil the chance to look for another team and to look for his future.
“We felt the confidence was not there any more on the level you need if you are to work together successfully in the future. But in the end, it’s the results which are counting.
“Both parties expected more and it didn’t happen. Therefore a termination is the best solution for both parties.”
Despite being dropped from the Red Bull programme, Kvyat may still have a place on the Formula 1 grid in the future, providing he gets his confidence back behind the wheel, with the results in the early stages of his career showing he has the ability needed to do well in the sport.
“In motorsport, especially Formula 1, you should never say never,” said Tost. “Daniil has the talent, he’s very fast and if he gets everything together, he can be successful.
“He has showed it in the past, he won the GP3 championship, he was with Red Bull on the podium, he is a skilled driver. Still I’m convinced he’s a very fast driver.
“If everything comes together, he can be very far in front. This is what he showed in the past.”
