Confirmed: Verstappen replaces Kvyat at Red Bull

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Max Verstappen will replace Daniil Kvyat at Red Bull with immediate effect, the team has confirmed.

Red Bull has moved following Kvyat's performance in the Russian Grand Prix, where he ran in to the back of Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari on two occasions, taking the four-time world champion out of the race. The incident also compromised team-mate Daniel Ricciardo's race, leaving Red Bull without points from the fourth round of the season.

With Verstappen a target for Ferrari in the future and Red Bull keen to safeguard the young Dutch driver, it has decided to promote Verstappen immediately, with Kvyat set to race for Toro Rosso in next weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

“Max has proven to be an outstanding young talent," team principal Christian Horner said. "His performance at Toro Rosso has been impressive so far and we are pleased to give him the opportunity to drive for Red Bull Racing.

“We are in the unique position to have all four drivers across Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso under long term contracts with Red Bull, so we have the flexibility to move them between the two teams.

“Dany will be able to continue his development at Toro Rosso, in a team that he is familiar with, giving him the chance to regain his form and show his potential.”

Kvyat's demotion comes despite the Russian driver scoring a podium at the Chinese Grand Prix one race earlier.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.