2019 Report – Daniil Kvyat: A Mixed Season
The end of the year is approaching, and it's time to analyze the drivers' performances in 2019. Motors Inside offers you a look back at Danill Kvyat's season, who, after being expelled from the Red Bull program in 2017, had the chance to make an unexpected return in 2019.
Expelled by Red Bull in 2017 even before the end of the season, Daniil Kvyat took on a role as a development driver at Ferrari in 2018. Although relegated to the background, this experience allowed the Russian to reassess himself and thus return to the grid stronger than ever.
From the first race of the season, Kvyat, as in every Australian Grand Prix he participates in, finishes in the points thanks to a tenth place. Subsequently, the native of Ufa will score points on six other occasions.
His third place in Germany is a comeback in a life that has never done him any favors and also a sign for Red Bull that he has retained his speed and is a genuine potential candidate for the 2020 seat in the RB16.
After the Hungarian Grand Prix, Kvyat is 9th in the drivers’ championship with 27 points. A very good first part of the season for the Toro Rosso driver.
Alas, his second half of the season will be much less glorious. Only finishing in the points 3 times, with his best performance being a 7th place in Belgium, Kvyat seems much less determined to do well since his former teammate, Alexander Albon, was promoted to the main team.
He even falls back into his old ways in Singapore, the United States, and Mexico when very daring overtaking maneuvers turn into collisions with more or less serious consequences.
If Kvyat managed to beat Alexander Albon in the first part of the season, he couldn’t replicate this feat with Pierre Gasly, who dominated him on almost every front in the second part of the season.
But this return is nevertheless very positive for a driver in whom no one believed anymore and who still manages to perform well. 13th in the drivers’ championship, Toro Rosso can count on an experienced driver who knows how to bring in points and develop a car.
