F1: Pierre GaslyTo Replace Daniil Kvyat At Torro Rosso For Malaysia GP

Nicknamed 'The Torpedo', Torro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat hasn't had the best races this season and the team has taken note of the same. In what is disappointing for the young Russian, Torro Rosso has decided to replace Kvyat for the upcoming Formula 1 Malaysia Grand Prix this weekend with Red Bull rookie Pierre Gasly. This latter will be making his F1 debut at Malaysia and will be taking the driver's seat alongside Carlos Sainz at Torro Rosso. Pierre Gasly is a Red Bull junior driver and the 2016 GP2 champion.

The 21-year old is currently driving in Japan's Super Formula this year and is currently in contention for the championship title. With two races remaining in the Series, Pierre is looking to win the title. Moving him to F1 comes as part of a multi-race evaluation for a full time seat next year.

Speaking on bringing Gasly to F1, Torro Rosso team principal, Franz Tost said, "Scuderia 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."

(Daniil Kvyat's crash at Singapore GP only added to his woes at Torro Rosso)

"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."

Kvyat has had performance issues this season having scored just four points as compared to Sainz's 48 points this season. Speaking on Kvyat's performance, Tost said that while there were technical problems, it was also mistakes of his own making. The crash during the Singapore GP only added to his woes.

"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," Tost added further.

(Pierre Gasly currently competes in Japan's Super Formula championship)

This won't be Gasly first stint in an F1 car though. The 21-year-old has been Red Bull's reserve driver in 2017, driving the RB13 at the post race tests in Bahrain and Hungary.

Speaking about his new role, Gasly said, "I would like to thank everyone who has helped me get this chance in my motor racing career and specifically, Red Bull, Dr. Helmut Marko and Scuderia Toro Rosso."

Adding further the Frenchman said, "This is a great opportunity for me. I feel as ready as I can be, having had to be prepared for anything in my role as Red Bull Racing's third driver this year. I will do my best to perform well with Scuderia Toro Rosso during these coming races."

In a statement, Toro Rosso added that the driver switch should not be considered a permanent parting of the ways with Kvyat, saying "This is not a case of goodbye for our Daniil, as he still remains part of the Red Bull Family."

(Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz at the first press conference ahead of the Malaysia GP)

While Gasly gets the big step up from GP2 to F1, this doesn't mean Kvyat won't be a part of the Red Bull group. The team has made it clear that the Russian will be part of the Red Bull drivers program. However, it is not clear yet as to how many F1 races will Gasly participate in. That said, the Japan Super Formula finale coincides with the US GP, which may bring Kvyat back to the Torro Rosso's pits.

Having started his career with Torro Rosso in 2014, Daniil Kvyat was announced as the replacement to Sebastian Vettel alongside Daniel Ricciardo, when the German switched to Ferrari in 2015. Much to his disappointment though, Kvyat could not live up to the expectations and was demoted back to Torro Rosso last year ahead of the Spanish GP. His loss turned out to be Max Verstappen's gain, who has made quite a name for himself in the last one year.