F1: Making Sense Of Red Bull Racing’s Switch

Red Bull Racing’s Daniil Kvyat, just two races after scoring a podium finish at the Chinese Grand Prix, has been replaced by Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen, the 18-year old wonder kid and future face of Formula 1.

The future for Red Bull Racing is now. Well, at least that is what Red Bull Racing believes. Max Verstappen replaces Daniil Kvyat at Red Bull Racing, while Kvyat takes over Verstappen’s ride at Toro Rosso.

Two races ago Kvyat scored his first podium finish of the season, and many thought more could follow this season. He still could, but it will be much tougher for him as goes back to the team he started with in Formula 1 in Toro Rosso, a team that has not been as competitive as it was in 2015.

In case you were like many, such as myself, and were confused by the announcement, it is race car official.

We shouldn’t have been so surprised though. It sounds like this move was in the works for Red Bull Racing for some time. Motorsports.com reported yesterday that the move could happen as soon as the Spanish Grand Prix. That turned out to be correct.

Then Martin Brundle pointed this out on Twitter.

This makes it look like Red Bull Racing was looking for any reason to demote Kvyat and they took their opportunity. Kvyat’s move in turn one on the first lap of the Russian Grand Prix did him no favors on the track and, apparently with his own team, but that alone is typically not reason enough to make a move like this.

As Toro Rosso continues to struggle, so does Verstappen. As Haas F1 continues to improve each week, Toro Rosso continues to take a step back. As Kvyat’s results with Red Bull continued to fluctuate, so did the Red Bull bosses opinion of Kvyat.

Make no mistake, this was a move by Red Bull Racing to keep Verstappen in their driver lineup. This was a move by Red Bull Racing to stay relevant. This was a move to solidify their future in Formula 1. Who can fault them for that?

What doesn’t make sense, however, is demoting Kvyat only four races into his second full-time season with Red Bull Racing. If this idea was on the radar during winter testing, Red Bull and Toro Rosso should have worked something out to make this happen before the season started.

One thing that does make sense is that we are all left with a great storyline for the rest of the season. Kvyat, with noting to lose, will set out to prove he was wronged. Verstappen, with the spotlight solely placed on him, will set out to prove it was the right decision. This should be fun.