F1 News: Daniil Kvyat reveals his shock at Red Bull seat offer

Helmut Marko, Christian Horner — Photo: © LAT Images

F1 Stories

Former F1 star reveals shock at Red Bull seat offer

He certainly wasn't expecting this one

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 17 January 2024 18:57

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Former F1 and Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat has revealed his surprise at the quick turnaround which saw him replace Sebastian Vettel back in 2015.

The Russian had just come off the back of an impressive season with Red Bull's sister team Toro Rosso, where he had become the youngest points scorer in Formula 1 history aged 19 (that has since been beaten by Max Verstappen).

Kvyat had been expected to continue his development with Toro Rosso, but Red Bull's poor form in 2014 led to four-time world champion Vettel looking for pastures new.

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He joined Ferrari, leaving a seat alongside Daniel Ricciardo vacant at the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

Daniil Kvyat (R) claimed three podiums in his F1 career

The Russian was replaced by Max Verstappen at Red Bull in 2016

Kvyat's fleeting Red Bull career

Red Bull opted to fill their driver spot with another of their junior drivers in Kvyat, rather than looking externally, and the Russian went on to score two podiums with the team.

“I had an experienced team-mate and they were obviously comparing me to him, not in the points standings, but corner by corner in the data, old tyres, new tyres – that’s what they were looking at,” Kvyat explained to F1.com about the initial murmurings of a Red Bull seat.

“When Sebastian was leaving Red Bull, they had to have someone ready, and everything was going very fast at the time.

“At Suzuka, I came to the track in the morning and [Toro Rosso team boss] Franz Tost said, ‘Ah, so you’re driving for Red Bull next year’, and I was like, ‘What?’.

"He said, ‘Go and see Helmut [Marko]’, so I went there, saw [Red Bull team boss] Christian Horner and Helmut, they said, ‘Have a coffee with us’, and then they told me, ‘Hey, you’re driving for us next year’. I was like, ‘Wow’. It was an emotional day!”

Although his second season with the team ended in disaster as he was replaced by Verstappen after just four races, Kvyat did head back to Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri, soon to be rebranded again) and made a successful F1 career for himself.