Pierre Gasly replaces Daniil Kvyat from Malaysia onwards

Published on 26 September 2017 by Julien Lemmen

Pierre Gasly will make his Formula 1-debut during this weekends Malaysian Grand Prix. The 21-year old Frenchman will replace Daniil Kvyat at Toro Rosso. Kvyat has lost his place due to disappointing performances, while Gasly earned his promotion by impressive drives in the Japanese Super Formula Championship, where he is second in the standings at the moment, and by winning the GP2-title in 2016. 

Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost explains the decision: "Scuderia Toro Rosso was established by Red Bull to bring youngsters from its Junior Programme into Formula 1 and that's what we are doing by giving Pierre this chance. He is the next in line at Red Bull for this opportunity and he has shown that he deserves it, having taken the 2016 GP2 title and this year being very competitive in the Super Formula series in Japan. The driver switch gives us an opportunity to make a more informed decision regarding our 2018 driver choices. For a variety of reasons, some of them due to technical problems, but others being mistakes of his own making, Daniil Kvyat has not really shown his true potential so far this year, which is why we are standing him down for the next races. This will give us the opportunity to evaluate Pierre on track during a proper race weekend."

Pierre Gasly obviously is very happy with his promotion: "I would like to thank everyone who has helped me get this chance in my motor racing career and specifically, Red Bull, Dr. Helmut Marko and Scuderia Toro Rosso. This is a great opportunity for me. I feel as ready as I can be, having had to be prepared for anything in my role as Red Bull Racing's third driver this year. I will do my best to perform well with Scuderia Toro Rosso during these coming races."