Daniil Kvyat heads to the Circuit of the Americas for the United States Grand Prix on the back of a good drive to fifth in Russia two weeks ago, and is hopeful of another strong performance on a circuit that holds good memories for the Russian driver.
The Infiniti Red Bull Racing driver remembers fondly his first appearance at the Austin circuit when, back in 2013, he made his first on-track appearance for Scuderia Toro Rosso during free practice on the Friday, and also has positive memories of the race in 2014 with the same team despite missing out on points following a late issue with his tyres.
“I made my F1 debut there and that was a big moment in my career,” said Kvyat. “The race last year was I would say unlucky in that we had really good pace but I had to pit for a vibration with the tyre after overtaking Kimi [Raikkonen], but yes, I have very positive memories of the circuit.
“I really like racing at COTA; the track is really good. It has a lot of high-speed corners, heavy braking, long straights, a bit of everything really, so it’s great for racing, very enjoyable.
“Sector One is exciting. There are a lot of high-speed changes of direction. It’s kind of like Maggots-Becketts at Silverstone and it feels great through there in an F1 car. The circuit also has a lot of changes of elevation, which is something I think every driver appreciates. It’s a good track.”
Team-mate Daniel Ricciardo feels the circuit is the best one on the calendar for overtaking, and agrees with Kvyat about the fun-factor of the COTA circuit.
“For a modern-day circuit with lots of runoff, they’ve done the best job possible,” said Ricciardo.
“They’ve created a track that’s safe but managed to ensure it’s still fun. It’s probably the best overtaking circuit on the calendar.”
