Daniil Kvyat will retain a Formula 1 connection this season after being appointed as Alpine’s reserve driver.
Kvyat, 26, started 110 grands prix for Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri and Red Bull Racing from 2014 to 2020, scoring three podium finishes.
He secured a high of seventh in the standings in 2015, his sole full season with Red Bull Racing.
He also spent 2018 as Ferrari’s development driver in-between his second and third stints at Red Bull’s junior Formula 1 team.
Kvyat was left without a seat on the 2021 grid after AlphaTauri opted to promote Yuki Tsunoda to partner Pierre Gasly.
Kvyat will nonetheless remain affiliated with Formula 1 after signing to act as back up to Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon at the rebranded Alpine squad.
“I am very excited to join the Alpine F1 Team family,” said Kvyat.
“The team has achieved some great results in the past year and is very technologically advanced. Development has been strong, and I am aiming to contribute to this positive trend.
I will try to bring my experience on and off track to help develop the A521 and future cars as well.”
Kvyat is the latest ex-F1 racer to take up a reserve role with a team, following on from Stoffel Vandoorne at Mercedes, Alexander Albon at Red Bull, Robert Kubica at Alfa Romeo, and Pietro Fittipaldi at Haas.
Guanyu Zhou has stayed on as Alpine’s Formula 1 test driver.
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