2016 was the most difficult year in Daniil Kvyat’s Formula 1 career. The then only 22-year-old was replaced by Max Verstappen after just four races of the season at Red Bull and sent back to Toro Rosso. His career never really recovered from that.
In the “Track Limits” podcast, he revealed that everything could have turned out very differently. “I think I performed really well. I had just gotten another podium for the team,” he recalls at the start of the 2016 season.
In the third round in China, Kvyat finished third, but in the following race in Russia he had no points after clearing Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari at the start. This was followed by a cockpit swap with Verstappen.
“At that time I also had an offer to drive for Ferrari and Kimi [Räikkönen] to replace. Not many people know that, but that happened behind the scenes,” reveals Kvyat, emphasizing that he already had the contract with Scuderia in front of him.
Raikkonen’s contract with Ferrari expired at the end of 2015, but was subsequently extended several times by one year each. Kvyat, on the other hand, had to end the 2016 season at Toro Rosso and was ejected entirely by Red Bull just before the end of the 2017 season.
Kvyat: No more motivation after demotion
The 28-year-old explains that mentally it was a “very difficult situation” for him. One moment he was still on the podium for Red Bull and had an offer from Ferrari, “and then you suddenly go back to Toro Rosso.”
It was “not a great time” for him, and at the time he had the feeling that Red Bull had “stabbed him in the back”. “The truth is that after 2016 I didn’t want to be there anymore,” admits Kvyat and explains: “I had no more motivation.”
“I didn’t want to be there anymore and didn’t like working for them anymore,” he recalls. In 2016, after being demoted, he only made it into the points three more times in 17 races, and in 2017 there were three more top 10 results before he was finally thrown out.
He no longer enjoyed his job anyway, he reveals and explains: “2017 was a difficult year because I no longer had any motivation. And Carlos [Sainz] was extremely motivated.” In contrast to Kvyat, his teammate regularly scored points in 2017.
Kvyat felt “a bit betrayed” by Red Bull
While the Spaniard was able to secure a works contract with Renault at the end of the year, Kvyat’s time in the premier class ended for the time being. “Part of me is of course very grateful to Red Bull. Another part is still very dissatisfied with them,” he admits.
According to Kvyat, however, he has no personal problem with Helmut Marko, who was then responsible for the decision to send him back to Toro Rosso. “He can be tough,” he knows, but also emphasizes: “I appreciate his honesty.”
He admitted that he felt “somewhat betrayed” at the time. “But that’s life, it happens. He has [mir] much given and much taken. But that’s normal. Ultimately, it’s also a business,” says Kvyat, whose relationship with Marko is “good to this day”.
Kvyat actually signed a contract with Ferrari in 2018 – but only as a development driver. He worked for Scuderia for a year before returning to Toro Rosso and AlphaTauri for two seasons in 2019.