Kvyat returned to the Red Bull family: Here's how the deal came about
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Secretly, it can be said that Daniil Kvyat and Red Bull had a love-hate relationship with each other: brought in as a great talent, debuting at Toro Rosso, then transferred to Red Bull Racing, transferred back to Toro Rosso, sent away and eventually brought back to the training team. Kvyat's second chance at Toro Rosso was initiated by himself.
Ferrari saw a chance in 2018: Kvyat's time at Red Bull had come to an end, and the Italians brought in the Russian as a test and reserve driver. The time at Ferrari gave Kvyat much-needed satisfaction, partly because it was quickly circulated in the paddock that he had been fast during tests. This was also heard at Toro Rosso.
Speaking to the Formula One website, Kvyat says that during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend at the time, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko had a cup of coffee with him. The conversation was amicable, and it was even mentioned that Kvyat had apparently taken a positive test with Ferrari. Eventually, the driver and the Red Bull men parted ways and agreed to keep in touch.
Kvyat took the initiative
"I later gave Helmut a call, not out of desperation, but I needed to get back to F1. I said, ‘I’m ready to race, I think I would be a great asset for you now’, and he goes, ‘OK, everything is closed, but I’ll let you know if something changes’. Three days after, I think, Daniel decided to go to Renault. Helmut called me and said, ‘What a timing, are you still interested?’ We shook hands and that was my way back in," laughed Kvyat.
Eventually, the Russian drove for Toro Rosso and later AlphaTauri for almost two more seasons before being sidelined for a final time by Red Bull in late 2020.