Daniil Kvyat ran an alternative strategy that saw him not change tyres during the virtual safety car unlike many of his rivals that ultimately saw him claim fourth position at the chequered flag at Spa-Francorchamps.
The final stint of the race saw the Infiniti Red Bull Racing driver move ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa and Sergio Perez to move up to fifth, then inherited fourth when Sebastian Vettel suffered his late tyre failure.
The Russian admitted it was an ‘interesting’ afternoon, and he was able to secure a good haul of points to move him ahead of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo in the Drivers’ Championship standings.
“It was a very interesting race and really good fun today,” reflected Kvyat. “I had a lot of overtaking opportunities and the car performed well.
“The strategy from the team to keep me out during the virtual safety car was good and we were able to have a strong last stint. The team did a good job and we scored some solid points.
“We should be happy with the performance today and hopefully we can continue this form over the next few races.”
Team-mate Ricciardo was less fortunate, retiring while in contention for a podium finish when his car lost power exiting the Bus Stop Chicane, with the Australian believing it was an electrical that caused him to stop.
“I had a good start jumping up to third and the race was going okay,” said Ricciardo. “We didn’t have a great balance with the Prime, I was struggling a little, but we were hoping to come on strong with the Option and have a good last stint.
“It’s disappointing not to finish, we are not sure what the issue is but the team are investigating. I lost power going into the chicane, everything switched off, including the dash. It looks like it’s electrical but we’ll see what the investigation brings.”
