Kvyat: It’s been a good season so far

Daniil Kvyat has more reason than most F1 drivers to be happy with his lot right now. An excellent debut season has seen the young Toro Rosso driver praised across the board and tipped by many as one to watch for the future.

However, he is not one to rest on his laurels and is clearly working to achieve even greater things as the season reaches its thrilling climax: “It’s been a good season so far and I have been learning a lot” he declares, “Of course there are always races where you think you could have done better, but I have generally been quite happy about how everything has gone. We are all continuing to work very hard and I hope we can finish the season on a high.”

If a highly promising debut season isn’t enough, the Russian rookie is now only weeks away from racing in front of his home fans when Formula 1 arrives in Russia for the very first time the weekend of 10-12 October. Moreover, there are not many 20 year olds who get entire grandstands named in their honour but in Kvyat’s case this is exactly what happened when Sochi Autodrom – the multi purpose race venue that will host the inaugural Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix - announced that its T4 Grandstand would henceforth be known as the ‘Daniil Kvyat Stand’. How does a young driver in his first full season in Formula 1 even begin to process such an honour?

"I was amazed to learn there will be a grandstand bearing my name at the Sochi Autodrom”, Kvyat admits, “usually, this is an honour reserved for drivers who have retired, so it is both surprising and a great privilege.”

It becomes clear when talking to him just how excited he is to be the first Russian F1 driver to race in front of his home crowd and he is more than aware of the historic significance of the occasion: “I am very excited to race in Russia when I will finally get to perform in front of my home crowd, so that makes it a very important weekend. I’m sure feeling all that extra support will be a big boost when I’m on track. It’s definitely a historic moment and I hope everyone will enjoy the Grand Prix.”

The track is as yet still one he is not overly familiar with – “It is still a bit early to talk about the details and the track layout because I haven’t actually been there yet” - but he is confident it will prove to be one of the most challenging and popular ones on the calendar for both drivers and fans: “it does look like an interesting track with its long straights and numerous corners and I can’t wait to get there and see everything for myself.“

So what does he think fans can expect from the first ever Russian Grand Prix? “It will be the first time for Russia to host a Formula 1 race, so I’m sure it will be a huge event and I hope everyone will enjoy the race weekend.” The impact of such an event on the Russian people and their growing love of all things motorsport is also not lost on him: “The people in Russia have waited a long time to see a Formula 1 race live on home soil and I believe this race will be very important for promoting the culture of motor racing in Russia.”