The surprise ex-F1 driver aiding Alpine's revival
Alpine has revealed a surprise asset supporting its Formula 1 revival this season - ex-Red Bull driver and podium finisher Daniil Kvyat.
Kvyat, who started 110 grands prix from 2014 to 2020, quietly rejoined the Enstone team this year as a simulator driver.
He had a stint at Alpine in 2021 as its reserve driver, having spent his F1 career racing for Red Bull's teams across multiple stints split by a year on the sidelines in 2018, when he was a simulator driver for Ferrari.
Kvyat's role has been kept under wraps as he shares simulator duties with Alpine reserve drivers Paul Aron and Kush Maini.
This includes development work but also race weekend support duties when Aron is required to be on-site at flyaway races.
During race weekends, Kvyat keeps in contact with Alpine race driver Pierre Gasly, who he was team-mate to at Red Bull's junior team and has a good relationship with, to share direct feedback.
Kvyat is understood to have played a significant role in Alpine's in-weekend turnarounds in Japan and Canada.
Alpine is enjoying a much improved season in F1 as the new rules and its switch to Mercedes engines have launched it back to the head of the midfield.
Kvyat has raced and/or tested NASCAR, top-level sportscar and Formula E machinery since his F1 exit, and had a role as a reference driver racing against an autonomous vehicle in Abu Dhabi.
He is competing in Japan's Super GT series this year in the GT300 category, alongside veteran driver Takashi Kogure. The pair are 16th in the points with a best class finish of sixth.
