Max Verstappen can't wait for 'amazing' Red Bull F1 chance
Max Verstappen has hailed his sudden promotion to Red Bull Racing as "an amazing opportunity" after just 23 races in Formula 1
Verstappen has swapped seats with Daniil Kvyat, with the Russian returning to Toro Rosso "to regain his form and show his potential" according to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
Verstappen will partner Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards, with Horner describing his career at Toro Rosso as "impressive".
Speaking on his website, Verstappen said: "The next step in my relatively short career so far, is an amazing opportunity.
"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."
Looking ahead to his debut with RBR, Verstappen added: "Together with Red Bull Racing we'll do everything to prepare me as best as possible for my first laps in the RB12, next week in Barcelona.
"I cannot wait for that special moment to happen."
Tost, meanwhile, has welcomed Kvyat back to Toro Rosso.
Kvyat joined Toro Rosso at the end of 2013 ahead of his debut campaign the following year before switching to Red Bull for 2015.
Tost said: "We are more than happy to welcome Daniil back to Faenza and look forward to having a successful season with him."
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
McLaren's Alonso sure some F1 teams will get new rules wrong
Formula 1 peaked in 2000s, not Senna/Prost era, Alonso believes
How Hamilton has battled his own mentality
Ex-F1 driver Jos Verstappen plans British rallying debut
Hamilton: Parental involvement in F1 driver career is “thin line to walk”
Why Verstappen isn't interested in hyping up Red Bull
Red Bull in no rush to finalise 2025 F1 line-up
Verstappen 'deserves' fourth in China F1 sprint qualifying with wet struggles
The ironic reason Newey thinks Red Bull hasn't been caught in F1 yet
Latvala: Neuville, Evans tied for WRC Croatia lead "something special"
WEC Imola: Ferrari remains on top in FP2 as Fuoco beats Porsche
WRC Croatia: Neuville, Evans tied for the lead after eight stages
WIN! A VIP Race Weekend Experience in Monaco
The short-term pain that hides a very real Williams improvement
How a Shanghai to Sheffield journey paved the way for China’s F1 hero
Why F1 2026 worst case fears could be key to new rules success
How the F1 driver market situation sits for each team with 2025 openings
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments