During the summer break prior to the Belgian Grand Prix, Kvyat's teammate Albon was promoted to Red Bull in August to replace Pierre Gasly, who was demoted back to Toro Rosso. Some questioned the decision not to promote Kvyat instead, as he had outperformed Albon during the first half of the season. Red Bull justified the move by saying they wished to trial Albon for the remainder of the season to decide who would partner Max Verstappen at the team in 2020. Kvyat produced an excellent drive in Belgium to finish in 7th place after starting in 19th due to power unit penalties. His third retirement of the season came at the next race in Italy after suffering an oil leak. Kvyat recorded three more points finishes in the remainder of the season; two 10th-place finishes in Japan and Brazil, and a 9th-place finish in Abu Dhabi. He also finished in the points in Mexico and the United States, but was handed post-race penalties for causing last-lap collisions in both races, dropping him out of the points. Kvyat finished the season in 13th place in the championship with 37 points.