Former Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat has been snapped up by Alpine as reserve driver for the 2021 Formula 1 season.

The Russian joins the squad formerly known as Renault after a two-year stint with AlphaTauri (nee Toro Rosso).

The 26-year-old lost his drive at the end of last season in favour of Yuki Tsunoda at the Red Bull feeder team, leaving him without a race seat for the coming year.

It’s a similar situation to that which faced him at the end of 2017, when he was dumped from Toro Rosso in favour of Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley.

“I am very excited to join the Alpine F1 Team family,” Kvyat said of his new role.

“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.

“As a Reserve Driver you need to keep sharp and I look forward to integrating into the team in several different areas.”

Alpine CEO, Laurent Rossi, added: “Throughout his career, Daniil has forged a reputation as a very quick driver, but has also shown great resilience.

“We are pleased to have yet another determined and talented driver in our ranks as we make our first F1 campaign as Alpine F1 Team.”

Kvyat has a total of 110 grands prix to his name, amassing three podiums, a fastest lap, and 202 points across stints with Toro Rosso, Red Bull, and AlphaTauri.

At Alpine, he’ll join race drivers Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon, and test driver Guanyu Zhou.

The 2021 Formula 1 season begins on March 26-28 with the Bahrain Grand Prix, though teams will be in action next week for three days of pre-season testing (March 12-14) in the Gulf State.