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Daniil Kvyat recently shared an interesting story about how Daniel Ricciardo unwittingly helped him get a second shot in F1. The Russian driver was teammates with the Australian at Red Bull in 2015 and early 2016 before moving to the sister team. The driver was out of the sport soon after and his confidence was at an all-time low.
Kvyat was then part of the Ferrari team as a test and simulator driver. His lap times were quite competitive at the time in the simulator, which impressed the Italian team and the news reached the paddock.
There was however no seat on the F1 grid at the time in 2018 with all four Red Bull seats also occupied. In an interview with F1.com, the Russian shared an anecdote of how Daniel Ricciardo helped him get a second chance.
By the end of 2018, Ricciardo's contract was coming to an end with Red Bull and he was highly touted to extend his current partnership. The driver ended up shocking everyone with his move to Renault for 2019 and it opened up a seat on the Austrian team.
Kvyat was brought back and he ended up driving for Torro Rosso for a couple of seasons. Narrating the incident, the Russian said:
“My lap times were very competitive. You know, rumours go very fast in F1. I went to Montreal with Ferrari and I saw Christian [Horner team principal] and Helmut just to say hi and drink a coffee with them. “They were very happy to see me and we had a good chat. At one point they said, ‘We heard your test went very well’, and I was like, ‘Well, yeah, I didn’t know you knew about it!’, but we kept in touch."
He added:
“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, ‘Okay, 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.”
Daniel Ricciardo's journey back to Red Bull
Daniel Ricciardo left Red Bull at the end of 2018 but in 2024 he finds himself back in the umbrella as a driver for AlphaTauri. The Australian spent two years with Renault where he had decent success in 2020 by scoring multiple podiums. He would move to McLaren in 2021 where he was supposed to be the star signing.
It did not, however, turn out that way as Daniel Ricciardo was comprehensively beaten by Lando Norris over the two years. The highlight of his time at McLaren was when he won the 2021 F1 Italian GP, but he was unable to stay consistent enough to truly make the most of this. By 2022, the Australian's contract was cut short by a year and he moved to Red Bull to be the reserve driver for 2023.
This season, the driver will be representing AlphaTauri and it will be interesting to see how his season unfolds.
