Daniil Kvyat quietly put in a star performance during Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix, with the Russian climbing from nineteenth on the grid to finish an excellent seventh.
The Scuderia Toro Rosso driver had been forced to start at the back of the grid thanks to the multitude of penalties he was given as a result of engine component changes earlier in the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, but his charge through the field to his seventh top ten finish of the season was very impressive.
Kvyat says it is pleasing that Toro Rosso’s STR14 appears to be stronger on race days than in Qualifying trim, which he feels is helping his campaign, with the Russian now sitting eighth in the Drivers’ Championship, two points ahead of Alfa Romeo Racing’s Kimi Räikkönen, heading into next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
“We had a fantastic race today, to come from last on the grid to P7 was a great result,” said Kvyat. “We knew that with the cooler conditions it would be much better for our car, and actually we made a very big step in the race.
“Our car seems to perform better on Sundays this year, which I prefer – it’s where you need to be the fastest. We had many overtakes, good tyre management, a great strategy, and today we also had the pace to be competitive.
“We put everything together and I’m really happy with my racing and the final result. It was a lot of fun.”
