Red Bull send Kvyat to the F1 gulag as Verstappen steps up

F1 driver Daniil Kvyat has been dropped by the Red Bull team after a shocking display at the Russian Grand Prix and will be replaced by teenage sensation Max Verstappen for the rest of the season.

Kvyat will now return to the Red Bull's junior F1 team, Toro Rosso, but his "career is heading in only one direction now", says Daniel Johnson of the Daily Telegraph.

The Russian shunted former Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel twice in the first lap at Sochi, forcing the German out of the race and prompting a furious radio tirade from the four-time world champion. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"94489","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]

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Vettel had already branded his rival a "madman" following a near miss at the previous grand prix last month.

After Sunday's incident, he "immediately stormed into the Red Bull garage and began berating [Christian] Horner, his former principal at Red Bull", says The Guardian.

Fellow Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo, also sustained damage in the tangle and afterwards said he expected an apology from his team-mate.

The incident has led Red Bull to jettison the 22-year-old, who is in his fourth season as a Formula 1 driver.

The decision is "brutal even by Red Bull’s standards", says Johnson in the Telegraph.

The move is likely to have been sanctioned by Dr Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s motorsport advisor, who said the team needed "serious talks" over Kvyat's future following the race.

"The more important issue was how all the embarrassment unfolded in front of Marko and Russian President Vladimir Putin at his home race," says the Daily Mail.

Kvyat has been sent to the F1 equivalent of the gulag, says Kevin Eason of The Times. But while his punishment has been "swift and lethal", the promotion of Verstappen has been "rapid and sensational", he adds.

"A year ago, Verstappen was not old enough to drive a road car; now he is placed in a team that has been a leading light in F1 since he was in short trousers," he says.

But the move may also be designed to keep other suitors at bay. "Verstappen comes out of contract next year and Ferrari are known to be keen to snap up the young Dutchman. Promoting him now should, in theory, inculcate a sense of loyalty."