Kvyat named as Lamborghini WEC driver in LDMh, and will drive under with an Italian licence

The 28 year old, who last drove in Formula One with Red Bull owned AlphaTauri in 2020. He will now drive for the Lamborghini LMDh prototype program that will debut in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class in 2024.

Kvyat joins Mirko Bortolotti, Andrea Caldarelli and Romain Grosjean, the first three drivers announced last year, to develop the hybrid powered prototype this year and race next season in the WeatherTech Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship. Lamborghini is operating its LMDh program through the Italian Iron Lynx team.

Russian drivers must compete as neutrals in FIA championships, unless licensed by another country, and sign a commitment not to express support for the country's invasion of Ukraine. Kvyat moved to Italy with his family early in his career and speaks fluent Italian.

He said: “I am very happy to have joined Lamborghini Squadra Corse, it is a great honor for me, Lamborghini is a very well-known Italian brand with a great history in the automotive world and, having grown up in Italy, this is an additional source of pride for me. We hope to achieve many goals together, I am thankful for their trust in me and I look forward to starting work with the Lamborghini Iron Lynx Team on the LMDh project this year.”

In six F1 seasons from 2014 till 2020, Kvyat made 110 starts and had three podium finishes, second at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2015, third at the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix and third at the German Grand Prix in 2019.

Andrea Piccini, Iron Lynx team principal and CEO said: “The speed he showed during his time in F1 is going to be a huge asset to the team. Not only that, but a podium at Sebring on his FIA WEC debut made quite the impression and bodes well for his future in endurance racing. We are looking forward to testing the LMDh car with him this season before the real challenge begins in 2024.”