Toro Rosso has confirmed that Pierre Gasly will make his Formula 1 debut at the Malaysian Grand Prix, in place of Daniil Kvyat.
Gasly, the reigning GP2 champion, has been with Red Bull’s young driver scheme since 2014, and has raced in Super Formula this season.
Gasly, though, will now step up to Formula 1 for the races in Malaysia and Japan, in place of Kvyat, who remains part of the Red Bull family.
"Toro Rosso was established by Red Bull to bring youngsters from its Junior Programme into Formula 1 and that’s what we are doing by giving Pierre this chance," said Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost.
"He is the next in line at Red Bull for this opportunity and he has shown that he deserves it, having taken the 2016 GP2 title and this year being very competitive in the Super Formula series in Japan.
"He really has a valid chance of winning the title, as he is only half a point behind the leader. The driver switch gives us an opportunity to make a more informed decision regarding our 2018 driver choices.
"For a variety of reasons, some of them due to technical problems, but others being mistakes of his own making, Daniil Kvyat has not really shown his true potential so far this year, which is why we are standing him down for the next races.
"This will give us the opportunity to evaluate Pierre on track during a proper race weekend."
Kvyat is likely to return to Toro Rosso for the US Grand Prix, with the event clashing with the Super Formula finale at Suzuka.
Toro Rosso's intentions for the final three races have not yet been communicated.
Kvyat has endured a difficult season, and has scored just eight points since returning to Toro Rosso after four rounds in 2016, when he was replaced at Red Bull by Max Verstappen.
