Kvyat is ready to return to F1, but this is already a Hollywood scenario

Daniil Kvyat finally retired from Formula 1 three years ago, but his name still regularly appears in the headlines of motorsport news. Here are just a few of the most notable reasons: in the summer of 2022 he made his debut in NASCAR, last winter he signed a contract with Prema and spent a season in endurance racing, and in April it was announced that Daniil would join in 2024 the Lamborghini factory team and will continue his career in the highest WEC category.

But that’s not all: in the fall we wrote that Kvyat was testing an exotic Dallara car designed for unmanned racing.

A very extensive interview with the Russian driver was published on the official Formula 1 website, in which Daniil talks about different phases of his career, but also about what he has been doing lately. Here are some quotes from this text.

Only the earliest phase of his career took place in Russia, but after Daniil’s first successes in karting his family decided he should continue racing in Europe.

Daniil Kvyat: “We decided to move to Italy when I was 10 years old, and it was a one-way trip. I went to Rome, and you can say I found a home there: I graduated from school there, I made a lot of friends. I still play with an Italian license. Of course it wasn’t easy, because Italy has a very different culture, but I fit very well into the European racing system.

That’s where I caught Red Bull’s attention. I went to Varano to take part in the Formula BMW testing at this Italian track. There was also Carlos Sainz and Felipe Nasr, a more experienced driver, and they were reference points for us. Helmut Marko was satisfied with the results of the tests and said: “If this is really the first time you drive this car, then the results are simply excellent.” Then we signed a contract…”

In Formula BMW, not everything went as Daniil himself and his new mentors from Red Bull wanted.

“It was difficult, especially at the beginning, and Helmut called me,” Kvyat remembers. “He said something like, ‘You know, if you don’t do better in the next race, I think we’ll call it quits.’ The pressure was already very high. Marco told me to stay ahead of Carlos in Hockenheim. I replied, “Okay, but please change the machine settings the way I want.” We did it and it worked fine. I remember being ahead of Carlos, both in qualifying and in the races…

Now Carlos and I are real friends, but when we were partners (in youth formulas), the relationship came under pressure at times. We traveled together a lot, there was a lot of contact on the highways, and sometimes even our fathers had to intervene and say, “Hey guys, take it easy!”

During the GP3 season (in 2013), Hellmuth told us: “There is one place at stake in Formula 1, and whoever performs better will probably get it.” Then things took a serious turn. I remember a stage in Belgium where we started from the front row and we had almost the same number of points, and I had to win that race. I won it, but Carlos had an accident and I got a big points advantage.

At that time there was also European Formula 3, where the cars were slightly different. Hellmuth wanted me to do a few races in this series, and that’s where I started winning. I remember a stage at the Austrian Red Bull Ring: since Hellmuth lives nearby, he came to say hello. In three qualifyings I won three pole positions, and this was a very important step…

I won the GP3 title and before the last race of the season I was offered a contract with Toro Rosso. For me it was a huge achievement, and I signed it…

In Australia (at Kvyat’s debut Grand Prix in March 2014), I rode on instinct alone, which allowed me to reach the final qualifying round and earn my first points. In that race I was fighting with Kimi Raikkonen and thought: “Wow! This is just incredible!”

I started my career when I was 10 years old, and Kimi was already winning races with McLaren, and in my first race in Formula 1 I competed with him – it was cool!”

Already in the third stage of the debut season, Daniil qualified ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne, a much more experienced driver, his Toro Rosso teammate, and earned points in two of the first four races. As the season progressed, Kvyat found himself ahead of the Frenchman on more than one occasion, but Vergne had noticeably more points to his name. Further events developed according to an unexpected scenario.

Before the Japanese Grand Prix it was announced that Sebastian Vettel, who won four titles with Red Bull Racing, had signed a contract with Ferrari, and the team from Milton Keynes suddenly had a vacancy for 2015.

“I had an experienced partner and of course they compared me to him,” Kvyat said. – But not based on the number of points earned, but in detail, turn by turn, they analyzed the telemetry, who drove how on old tires, on new tires – they looked at all this.

When Sebastian was about to leave Red Bull, they needed someone ready to replace him, and then everything happened very quickly. In the morning I arrived at the Suzuka circuit and Franz Tost, the head of Toro Rosso, said: “In general, next year you will drive for Red Bull.”

“What?” – I didn’t believe it. Then he said, “Go to a meeting with Hellmut.” I went there, saw Christian Horner and Hellmuth, and they offered to have coffee with them, and then said, “Next year you’ll be riding on our team.” All in all it was an exciting day!…

Unfortunately, Red Bull continued to have problems with the engine in 2015, which was not efficient enough and not reliable enough. Even in the pre-season testing I thought it wouldn’t be easy…”

Nevertheless, that season Kvyat earned points in 14 of the 16 races in which he finished, including second place in Hungary, and at the end of the season ahead of his teammate Daniel Ricciardo in the individual championship.

“I think Daniel was at his peak at that moment,” Daniel continued. “In addition, the car was with him and I had to work hard to overcome some difficulties, but still it was a good season and I was satisfied with the results.

The winter was somewhat strange because Maurizio Arrivabene, then head of the Ferrari team, approached me: “We want you to compete with us.” We started negotiating, but in the end it became clear that nothing would come of it, because my ties with Red Bull were very strong. We continued to work together in 2016, the car improved that year, but not at the start of the season. And then of course that famous team change happened…”

After three races in 2016, Red Bull decided to send Kvyat back to Toro Rosso, and Max Verstappen took his place.

A difficult period began in Daniil’s career: “Tough times began. Because I had to return to Toro Rosso, my motivation was at a very low level and I had to drive a different car.

Carlos Sainz (the Spaniard became Kvyat’s partner again) was hungry for success and had confidence in the car, but I didn’t have the right attitude or confidence. I had nothing against Carlos with this approach. I had some good races, but the season as a whole did not go well. In 2017 the situation started to improve, but the results were still not up to par and I think we started to distance ourselves from Red Bull.

It became clear that we needed a break. So I sat out the 2018 season and became a reserve driver and test driver for Ferrari. I had a good time in that team. To be honest, I needed that job to support myself…

I went to Montreal with Ferrari and in the paddock I decided to visit Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, just to say hello and have coffee with them. They were happy to see me, we had a good conversation and at one point they said, “We heard you did well on the tests.” I replied, “I didn’t know you knew!” After that we stayed in touch.

After a while I called Hellmuth and said, “I’m ready to race. I think I can help you.” He said there are no vacancies, but promised to update if there were any changes. And three days after Daniel Ricciardo decided to move to Renault, Helmut called me and said: “This is it right time – are you still interested?” We shook hands, that’s how I returned to Formula 1.”

What happened next is history. But as Kvyat’s F1 career came to an end, he and his managers decided to try his hand first in America and then in endurance racing: “I did a few races in NASCAR and I really enjoyed it. There I had to start everything from scratch, but I liked that. In this series everything is quite simple and clear, but a crazy battle takes place on the tracks!

Now that I participate in the WEC, this series has a convenient schedule, and this is a completely different kind of racing, to which you also have to adapt, learn some techniques. I enjoy driving different cars, it’s a useful skill and I think I can change lanes more easily now. As a racer I continue to strive for constant progress.

Every now and then I contact Helmut Marko. I recently spoke to Franz Tost and now that he’s retired, I’m going to try to go skiing with him. That said, I always keep an eye on what’s happening in Formula 1. Ultimately, wherever I race, it feels like my approach to driving retains some of the style practiced in F1.

The easiest thing for me now is to get behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car and drive it to the limit again. My point is that if I ever get back into F1 it will be more like a Hollywood or Netflix scenario! But why not?