Daniil Kvyat
Daniil Kvyat the Russian driver most well-known for his driving style. Known as the “torpedo”, Kvyat had a successful career at Alpha Tauri/Torro Rosso as well as spells at Red Bull. Throughout, his 5-year, 4-season stint in F1. Starting his career in the Red Bull young driver program, his promotion to Torro Rosso was somewhat of a surprise. He was chosen ahead of the likes of Carlos Sainz.
Before F1 he had competed in the New Zealand Toyota Racing series before coming to Europe to compete in Formula Renault. During his time in Formula Renault, he competed alongside current F1 drivers Esteban Ocon and Piere Gasly. Other notable drivers include Stoffel Vandoorne and Nick De Vries. He also competed in European F3.
For the 2014 season, he raced for Torro Rosso, replacing Daniel Riccardo who moved to the senior team. He would score 2 points on his debut finishing 9th in Australia. He would prove this was not luck by scoring another point in the following race in Malaysia. Although he would finish behind his teammate, he would score 8 points overall this season. This would be enough to promote him to the Red Bull senior team alongside Daniel Ricciardo and replace Sebastian Vettel who moved to Ferrari.
The 2015 season would be very fruitful, scoring 95 points and 1 podium. He would score points on 14 occasions in the 16 races he finished. He would beat Riccardo by 3 points in the drivers’ standings.
His time at Red Bull would only last 4 more races before being demoted back to Torro Rosso. The same race as being demoted, he would earn his nickname the “Torpedo” after well, torpedoing into the back of Sebastian Vettle. Despite scoring 21 points in these 4 races, it was decided he would be replaced by Max Verstappen. He would only score 4 more points that season.
Despite a rapid rise in F1, by the end of the 2017 season, he was without a seat. The 2017 season was a mix of being completely dropped for some races with Gasly replacing him.
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For 2018 he would be the 3rd driver for Ferrari, completely parted from the Red Bull family. Or was he? By the 2019 season, Kvyat rejoined Torro Rosso and would stay until 2020 when the team would become Alpha Tauri. He would be a second driver to both Albon and Gasly. In 2020 he was not picked ahead of Yuki Tsunoda. He would cling onto F1 being a third driver for Alpine in 2021.
Since F1 he has competed in the World Endurance Series. In 2022 he was supposed to race for G-Drive Racing but was withdrawn because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He has since raced with Prema in the World Endurance Series and Lamborghini in the same series in 2024.
Overall, a really great driver who hasn’t had much luck at all. Many of his obstacles come from out of his control. Unfortunately, I would find it hard to see him back on the grid in F1.
Romain Grosjean
Another incredible driver who is most famous for his time at Haas and his horrific crash. The F1 driver competed for 9 seasons and 3 teams. He initially started his career in 2009 with Renault. Despite being signed as a test driver, he took a full-time drive after crash gate. Despite taking over, his contract was not renewed.
He would have to wait until the 2012 season to gain his next full-time drive. He would drive alongside Kimi Raikkonen for Lotus. He would stay there until the end of the 2015 season. During his time with Lotus, he would score 287 points and 10 podiums.
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For 2016 he would join another new team on the grid, Haas. He would stay there until 2020. Plagued with poor finances, the team would have to let go of both Grosjean and his long-term teammate Magnussen. Unlike most drivers, Grosjean would end in a ball of fire. During the 2020 Bahrain GP, Grosjean had a catastrophic crash resulting in burn injuries across his body.
Since F1, Grosjean has raced in IndyCar with Dayle Coyne Racing and Andretti Autosport.
Brendon Hartley
A short and sweet one. His career was also one with the Red Bull family. His career started as a reserve driver for Red Bull and Torro Rosso in 2009. He would perform these duties until 2012, while also competing in Formula Renault 3.5 series.
In 2012 Red Bull withdrew their support for the driver due to not winning enough races. With a brief spell at Mercedes as a simulator driver, it wouldn’t be until 2017 that Hartley would make his F1 race debut. He would replace Pierre Gasly at the USA GP who had another race commitment. After a few good races, it was announced he would replace Danill Kvyat for the remainder of the season. He was also signed up for the 2018 season.
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The 2018 season was not as fruitful and would be eventually replaced by Alex Albon.
Since F1 he has raced in the World Endurance Series and has won the 24 Hour of Le Mans 3 times, twice with Toyota and once with Porsche.
Sebastian Vettel
An icon of a driver who at times was hated but now loved by most. The 4-time world champion with Red Bull is greatly missed on the grid. With spells at Ferrari and Aston Martin to add to his incredible resume, he is a driver we would love to see back on the grid. He was well known for naming his cars, or not in the case of Aston Martin. The German has not long retired from F1 and with a German team entering the grid soon, it would be a surprise appointment but one many fans would love to see.
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Antonio Giovinazzi
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A lesser-known driver on the grid, but best known for driving for Alpha Romeo and looking like Jesus. A good driver who found himself at the detriment of a silly season. Joining the grid for the 2019 season, he would remain as a 1-team wonder until his exit in 2021. He had a career-high race finish of 5th which would happen in his first season. He would eventually be replaced by Zhou and Bottas.
Image Credit: Deposit Photos
Source : Former F1 drivers of the last few years that I would like to see back on the grid
