Kvyat has 72 Grands Prix to his name but just one podium, bringing his Red Bull home in third in China back in 2016.
But the Russian driver was dropped back to the sister Toro Rosso team one race later, replaced by Max Verstappen.
And he was handed another mid-season blow in 2017, when Red Bull announced they would be dropping him altogether after nearly five seasons with the two F1 teams.
He did briefly return, finishing 10th at the US Grand Prix when Pierre Gasly was absent, but did not do enough to secure a drive for 2018.
However, Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost insisted the 23-year-old “deserves to be in F1” and now it looks as though he could already be closing in on a return to racing at the highest level.
Ferrari confirmed today on Twitter that Kvyat has signed as a “development driver”.
Kvyat joins Charles Leclerc and Antonio Giovinazzi as Ferrari’s F1 reserve drivers.
But Leclerc has a full-time seat with Sauber for 2018 while Giovinazzi is the team’s third driver.
It means Kvyat will fulfil the Ferrari third driver role, news that may not delight Sebastian Vettel.
Kvyat crashed into Vettel during the 2016 Russian Grand Prix and the German labelled him “the torpedo” in the aftermath.