Daniil Kvyat insists that he could have beaten Daniel Ricciardo in the Drivers’ Championship for a second consecutive season had he not been replaced in the Red Bull Racing line-up following the Russian Grand Prix.
Kvyat was demoted to the Scuderia Toro Rosso team following his home race after two high profile clashes with Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari on the opening lap, a race after he had handed Red Bull their first podium finish of the year in China.
The Russian believes he was performing to a level that Red Bull were expecting of him, and felt that he was doing everything right within the team only to find himself ousted in favour of Max Verstappen ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.
“The circumstances in which I approached Red Bull Racing [were that] the car was worse than the last year,” said Kvyat. “It is easy for first year drivers at the time to look amazing.
“I believe the circumstances back then were not favourable but then they started to get better and better. The second half of the season for me at Red Bull Racing, it was good, stable.
“I was matching and beating Daniel, I scored more points than Daniel and it would have been the same this year again. All the things about a ‘too early’ approach are b******t.”
“I was performing more than enough well. I brought them the first podium of the year. Our pace was getting better and better.
“They got what they expected from me. That is all I can really say. So I think I did everything right, absolutely everything right.”
