The returning F1 reject who must deliver in 2019

A year ago Daniil Kvyat's Formula 1 career appeared to be over. He had been told by Helmut Marko straight after the United States Grand Prix that he was out of Toro Rosso and the Red Bull programme, and he seemed to have little chance of being picked up by anyone else.

A glimmer of hope came when he was chosen by Ferrari to undertake a simulator role, sharing the workload with Maranello proteges Antonio Giovinazzi and Antonio Fuoco. It was paid employment, but he knew it wasn't even worth dreaming about ever landing a race seat there.

Instead, he's been called back to Toro Rosso for 2019, after Daniel Ricciardo's defection to Renault gave Pierre Gasly the chance to graduate to Red Bull - just as Sebastian Vettel's move to Ferrari handed Kvyat an early promotion to the senior squad for '15.

It's an extraordinary and unexpected development, and proof that second chances do come along in F1. And what a chance Kvyat now has. In 2019, Toro Rosso will move closer to what promises to be a very competitive Red Bull-Honda package, taking the same gearbox and other elements.

With rookie Alexander Albon expected to be signed to the second seat, Kvyat will be a clear team leader at an organisation that will target fourth place in the constructors' championship. He's also handily positioned as reserve for Red Bull, should he be required for any reason.

So, what went wrong for Kvyat during his first F1 stint, and how has this significant change in his fortunes come about?

In 2014, aged 19 and as the reigning GP3 champion, he was propelled into his first Toro Rosso seat. He showed well against Jean-Eric Vergne, who was in his third F1 season. Although the Frenchman scored more points that year, it was Kvyat who got the Red Bull job when Vettel announced that he was leaving for Ferrari in '15 during the Japanese GP weekend.

"Daniil's first year was quite good," recalls Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost. "He drove some really good races, and this was the reason why Red Bull took him. There was also a discussion on whether it was too early for him, but his races were really competitive - and his technical understanding was also good, his feedback was good."

The decision to promote Kvyat was taken as soon as Marko and Christian Horner heard the news from Vettel, and at the time it seemed that Red Bull wanted to score a PR victory by not appearing to have been caught out. But was it a little hasty?

"It was decided in Suzuka, I remember exactly," says Tost. "The decision was not too fast. It was discussed earlier. The decision was well thought through. There were also some other drivers on the list. I do not want to come up with the names, but this was not a decision from one second to the next, 'Oh, we'll take Daniil Kvyat'.

"If Verstappen was not at Toro Rosso, Red Bull would have given Kvyat more time" Nicolas Todt

"Also, Sebastian's change to Ferrari was not overnight, this was known before, and therefore Red Bull discussed which possibilities they had. As Daniil developed quite well with us, and he also brought some good results and was quite competitive in the simulator, it was therefore clear that he was the best possible alternative.

"He would have stayed with us if Sebastian had not changed to Ferrari, no doubt. Normally we always say a driver should stay with us for three seasons. It was after one season [that he moved], because of his high talent and natural speed - we thought it was the right decision."

Kvyat's first year at Red Bull was solid, and it's easy to forget that he actually outscored team-mate Ricciardo by 95 to 92 points. Expectations for Kvyat were higher in the second year in 2016, and Ricciardo, who admits he had felt pressure as notional team leader in '15, raised his game.

"On his day he was quick," the Australian recalls of Kvyat. "Some days I was like, 'Hey, he pulled that out'. I was never really sure if he knew how he was doing it. He would just do it, and then the next day or a week later he was eight tenths off. But the natural talent is there."

By then, though, Max Verstappen was doing exceptional things at Toro Rosso, and Marko and Horner were keen to promote him. Despite a third place in China at the beginning of 2016, a series of incidents provided the excuse to send Kvyat back to the junior squad.

"Unfortunately he maybe put himself too much under pressure to be even more successful," says Tost. "In Sochi he crashed into Vettel, and then Red Bull decided to take Verstappen."

"He was very young as well," adds Ricciardo. "Some young drivers are able to handle it, but I think they are exceptions. Normally, I don't think a 20-year-old should handle F1 easily, although obviously Max has. A few are exceptions, but to put everyone in that category is too high an expectation."

Nicolas Todt, who has steered the careers of drivers including Felipe Massa and Charles Leclerc, has managed Kvyat since June 2018. Although just an observer two years ago, he has some interesting views.

"For sure his first year was strong," says Todt. "And he was hoping for a very successful second season, I guess. He made a few mistakes, and the team management got upset - and maybe overreacted, because I think it's important to give time to people.

"I think they were a bit too impatient, and at the same time you had Verstappen doing a very good job. If Verstappen was not at Toro Rosso, they would have given him more time."

Rejection by Red Bull was a crushing blow for Kvyat, and after the demotion he struggled to match new Toro Rosso team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr.

"He was very welcome because we rate him as a good driver," Tost insists. "But in the end, it didn't work as well as we expected. There were many crashes, the car was also not so competitive or easy to drive, and if you are not so fixed and supported then it's a difficult one."

"I think he was a bit too young," says Todt. "I won't say to cope with the pressure, but I think he was a bit alone to manage all those things. When you are that young you need to be a bit surrounded."

In 2017, things started to unravel. Kvyat was 'rested' for the races in Malaysia and Japan, brought back for the US when Gasly had a final Super Formula commitment, and was then dumped, supposedly for good.

"He's more mature, he's more settled, and I think we will see the fast Kvyat we have in our memory - he's more hungry" Helmut Marko

"It was a very tough decision, and it was not easy," says Tost. "But I think it was the best decision because I had the feeling that both parties lost a little bit of trust in each other. Daniil was not so happy with our work, we were not so happy with some races. As always, if the success doesn't come as you expect, then there are many question marks on both sides."

The Ferrari sim job was a lifeline. It gave Kvyat the chance to get to know a different team and different engineers, and reflect on his time with Red Bull, before joining forces with Todt.

"It's always better to have someone around you, who can help you," reckons Todt. "When I started managing Felipe Massa he was a test driver for Ferrari, after a very tough year with Sauber. In a way, I can compare both stories.

"The break that Daniil had and which Felipe had in the past was very beneficial, I think. First of all, working with a top team like Ferrari is always a great school. It gave back some confidence that maybe Daniil had lost. I think it [also] helped Daniil to see the important things to focus on, and the things that were less important - now he is a more complete driver."

Sensibly, Kvyat had not burned his bridges with Marko and Red Bull, and it paid off when his phone rang again and a return to Toro Rosso was subsequently offered.

"I don't want to give credit to myself," says Todt of the deal that means Kvyat has the chance to extend his 72-race F1 career. "I was working on other leads, and when Helmut gave a call to Daniil to tell him that he wanted him back, I spoke to Helmut about all the contractual things. But the first call was made by Helmut to Daniil."

Marko is convinced that Kvyat is now in a much better place, and that the various factors that contributed to him going off the rails a bit in 2017 are gone.

"We saw it when he was driving last year," Marko explains. "It was a spiral. But we have been in contact. He told me the reasons why things happened. His whole environment is a much better one.

"He's more mature, he's more settled, and I think we will see the fast Kvyat we have in our memory. He's more hungry, and he saw how difficult it is to get a seat in F1. Now he starts everything new."

Horner was also in the loop on the decision, not least because Toro Rosso drivers are always on standby for Red Bull.

"It's good news for Daniil," he says. "Obviously it was a blow for him 12 months ago to lose the seat, but he's had a chance away from F1 to reflect.

"You just sense an inner development within him, and I think he's in a much better head space, because really he hadn't fully dealt with 2016. He's done a very good job for Ferrari; they rated his work very highly.

"If he shines, why wouldn't he have the chance to go back to Red Bull one day?" Nicolas Todt

"Rejection for any driver is something very difficult to deal with. That was very tough for him, but he's kept his head down, kept working hard at it, and been determined to get himself back into a seat. He's still pretty young, he's still in his early twenties - he's just gained more life experience."

"Kvyat has something open with F1," says Tost. "He now gets another chance, because he deserves to be in F1, he is very fast, and I hope that this one-year sabbatical has helped him to get everything together and to show his real talent and his abilities and his speed. If we provide him with a proper car I'm convinced that he will bring home good results."

Assuming Kvyat does end up with Albon as a rookie team-mate, he'll have to adapt to the role of team leader. It's up to him to step up.

"What is sure is that there are high expectations around him," says Todt. "First of all, from himself, and also from Red Bull. We know the game when you go to Red Bull - you have to deliver. Mr Marko is not someone who is a more forgiving person. He knows what you have to achieve. At the end of the day when you're in F1 if you want to stay there first of all you have to beat your team-mate, and be impeccable.

"He feels good in his head, and if you want to be at the top in this game, or whatever sport you do, the mind is one of the most important aspects."

If things go well with Toro Rosso, Todt even sees no reason why Kvyat can't return to Red Bull in the future.

"Things can change very quickly in a good or bad way at Red Bull," he says. "If he shines, why wouldn't he have the chance to go back one day? Dany's goal today is not to go back to Red Bull, his goal today is to do well with Toro Rosso. [But] if he does well, he knows opportunities will arise."