Daniil Kvyat admitted to being satisfied with his qualifying session at the Shanghai International Circuit on Saturday after the Russian qualified ninth on the grid for the Chinese Grand Prix.
The Scuderia Toro Rosso made it through to the top ten shootout for a second consecutive race weekend, and was less than two-tenths of a second shy of seventh, something he will be looking to make amends for during the race on Sunday.
“We had a lot of things to focus on today and in the end we did a good job,” said Kvyat. “I’m feeling confident and we managed to put some very good laps together – I’m satisfied with my qualifying session!
“After not the easiest of FP3’s – not having run much yesterday, this morning we struggled a bit with the balance of the car – my team of engineers and myself managed to put everything together for qualifying, which ran smoothly.
“We’re satisfied with our performance and getting into Q3 was a nice achievement! I missed out by a tiny bit to P7, but I will try to make up for it tomorrow.”
Kvyat believes there will be more opportunities to advance up the order should the forecasted rain arrive on Sunday, and insists he will remain patient in order to take any opportunity that presents itself a year after finishing on the podium in China.
“If the rain does finally come during the race, it will definitely offer more opportunities, but also more threats – as we know, anything can happen in the rain and we will need to do the best job possible, stay patient and take calculated risks at times,” said Kvyat. “It will be a fun race, whatever the weather!”
