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kvyat on verstappen as teammate and best at wheel-to-wheel racing
"He was just the next guy I had to beat"

Kvyat teammate of Verstappen? 'Unfortunately that didn't happen'

21 May 2023 at 09:45
Last update 21 May 2023 at 10:01

Daniil Kvyat was a guest on the Track Limits podcast where he discussed, among other things, current world champion Max Verstappen. The Russian was replaced by Verstappen in 2016 and would have liked to be teammates with the Dutchman. Kvyat also stated that the Dutchman is the best at wheel-to-wheel racing.

Kvyat had a complicated career in Formula 1. The Russian made his debut at Toro Rosso and was promoted to Red Bull Racing after just one year. Here, however, Kvyat was soon replaced by Verstappen after disappointing performances from the Russian. From the end of 2017, the former F1 driver did not have a seat in Formula 1, but Kvyat returned as early as 2019. 2020 was Kvyat's last season in F1, at AlphaTauri. These days, Kvyat drives in the World Endurance Championship.

Kvyat on Verstappen as a teammate

Verstappen made his debut in F1 in 2015, and for a while it looked like Kvyat and Verstappen would become teammates at Toro Rosso that season. In the end, the Russian was promoted to Red Bull that season already, after Sebastian Vettel left there, and thus Verstappen and Kvyat did not become teammates after all. In the podcast, the former F1 driver looks back on the debut of the now two-time world champion.

"At the time we're supposed to be teammates, for me he was just the next guy I had to beat. That's all. But then I got promotion to Red Bull Racing so unfortunately that didn't happen," Kvyat says in the podcast.

Kvyat praises Verstappen

Meanwhile, Verstappen has become the dominant force in Formula 1 and Kvyat has words of praise for the Dutchman. "Of course you have to give him credit. He's been doing an amazing job, probably the strongest wheel to wheel. I think everyone is beatable"