Verstappen hails 'amazing opportunity' at Red Bull

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Max Verstappen has hailed his promotion to Red Bull as "an amazing opportunity" after being confirmed as Daniil Kvyat's replacement.

The 18-year-old has been promoted following Kvyat's performance at the Russian Grand Prix where he hit Sebastian Vettel twice at the start of the race. With Verstappen having caught the eye in his debut season, Red Bull has opted to swap the two drivers and the Dutchman is excited to be moving up to the four-time constructors' champions.

Confirmed: Verstappen replaces Kvyat at Red Bull

“The next step in my relatively short career so far, is an amazing opportunity," Verstappen told his official website. "I really want to thank Red Bull Racing 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 Franz Tost in particular, have made an amazing contribution to get me this far in my career. We’ve had an amazing time together.

“Together with Red Bull Racing we’ll do everything to prepare me as best as possible for my first laps in the RB12 Tag Heuer, next week in Barcelona. I cannot wait for that special moment to happen.”

Verstappen's website explains he will be at the Red Bull factory in Milton Keynes over the coming days to carry out a seat fitting and prepare for the Spanish Grand Prix.

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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.