“I felt I had a lot of unfinished business in Formula 1. There were talks in different areas, but I always wanted [to drive] in Formula 1. I was considering stopping completely if I didn’t get a Formula 1 deal again.”
Kvyat considered quitting racing before securing Ferrari test role
- Published on 07 May 2020 11:07
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- By: Fergal Walsh
Daniil Kvyat has revealed that he was seriously considering his future in racing towards the end of 2017 before he landed a test role at Ferrari.
The Russian was dumped out of the Red Bull programme and Formula 1 in 2017, a year after he was demoted from the senior team to Toro Rosso.
Kvyat signed with Ferrari as a test driver for the 2018 campaign, which boosted his confidence regarding his racing future, and he made a comeback with Toro Rosso in 2019.
Speaking to the Beyond The Grid podcast, Kvyat said: “In the end, I tested that year’s car once in Fiorano. And that was very emotional for me, because, first of all, it’s a Ferrari and Fiorano, a current car... it was really cool.
“I [hadn’t] driven anything for six months or something. I was enjoying it so much, and that day I understood I wanted to come back at any cost to Formula 1: ‘This is what I want to do, what I’m best at’.
“Also, that test was very strong, very consistent and good lap times and everybody was quite happy.
Kvyat worked with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen at the team, helping the team improve during race weekends.
“It was great also to watch them work, two world champions, very experienced guys,” he said. “With Sebastian, once I think I was in Canada and my job was to look at onboard videos and try to pinpoint what was different.
“I said, ‘look you can take more chicane, more kerb on the chicane’, and he agreed and he tried it the next day, and it was better.”
Kvyat returned to the podium in 2019, crossing the line in second place at the German Grand Prix, securing his third top-three finish in F1.
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