Pierre Gasly has “living example” of F1 second chance in Daniil Kvyat

Daniil Kvyat has called himself a “living example” for Toro Rosso teammate Pierre Gasly in getting a second chance in Formula 1 after both had been promoted to Aston Martin Red Bull Racing and then dropped.

Back in 2015 Kvyat had moved up to the senior team of the Red Bull programme after Sebastian Vettel’s departure to Ferrari but after one season and four races into 2016 he was dropped back to Toro Rosso.
 
The Russian spent the rest of the season there and stayed into 2017 before being replaced by Gasly late into that year.
 
Kvyat returned to the grid in 2019 and produced some excellent results, a best of finishing third at the German GP, whilst Gasly started the year out with Red Bull, only to be switched back to Toro Rosso during the summer break.
 
“I think almost everyone who’s come through this team has been very talented,” Kvyat told Motorsport.com.

“Some were unlucky with timing, like in my case at Red Bull Racing it was not the best timing to be in the team. I really don’t want to talk for Pierre, what happened to him at Red Bull, it wouldn’t be right.

“But now of course it’s all OK. He had a shorter time at Red Bull, and he has a living example in front of him that everything’s possible, even if you get dropped from Red Bull. It’s good that they gave a second chance to both of us, I think.”

Gasly bounced back from his switch, scoring five points finishes, including a second place in Brazil, to finish the season with Kvyat feeling that Red Bull’s lack of current options for F1 helped them retain their seats.

“Sometimes timing works for you, sometimes timing works against you,” he added.

“In the end it’s all about trying to be patient and doing your job, and being in the right place at the right time.

“I don’t want to give too much deep thought about my current situation or my past situation, it’s just the way it happened. It could have not happened, but it happened, and I’m pretty happy.

“Of course, I’m always grateful to Red Bull. They’ve been very harsh on me, but also very good to me at the same time.

“There are many things that I’m grateful for, and hopefully the relationship continues to be very strong.”