Daniil Kvyat admits that he's likely heading into his final three races with AlphaTauri, considering that his prospects of remaining in F1 beyond this season now appear "very slim".
The Red Bull sister team confirmed 2020 Italian Grand Prix winner Pierre Gasly for 2020, and all signs point to young Japanese F1 charger Yuki Tsunoda moving up to F1 with the Faenza squad next season, leaving Kvyat at a dead end.
"I know – like I said already many times – the chances of me being here next year are very slim," Kvyat said in Bahrain. "It will depend on a very particular scenario.
"I’m kind of already with my mind just focusing on these three races here and not really thinking too much about the future.
"I’m just going to give my best to this team these next few races, and then we will see, you know.
"They deserve me, you know, thinking about these three races and staying focus here, because in the end this year, there was a lot of ups and downs, but lately it’s been going better and better."
Kvyat's life in F1 has been a story of promotiosn and demotions. The Russian talent entered the sport with Toro Rosso in 2014 before he was handed a plum driver with Red Bull the following year.
But three races into the 2016 season, Red Bull swapped Kvyat for Max Verstappen who won his first race with the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
Kyvat was later dropped from Red Bull's roster altogether but was called upon once again by Helmut Marko and Toro Rosso in 2019 after a year on the sidelines.
"I’ve been called to this team, because they needed me here for 2019 and 2020," he said.
"That was my target of trying to do a good job for this team in these two years, and then… we agreed, that we would see what the future holds.
"So far I feel like last year and this year, yeah, I have been doing my best for this team. And it’s been working very well. I am very happy.
"If it has to happen that it’s my last season in F1, then you look on it from a bright side. You know, that it’s been – what is it, 110 or something races, a few podiums and other strong races – of course, it’s not bad," he added.
"But of course, I always wanted to have a proper fight for the world championship as a driver. And this is why I will always have more hunger, you know.
"Regardless, I will always try to come back and have another shot. And as my career shows you can always have a shot again, if you’re in the right place in the right time."
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