Daniil Kvyat's route to F1 and to the Team was in some way trickier than most. For a start, he hails from a part of the world – Bashkortostan in Russia – where motor racing isn't exactly the top sporting pursuit and where most kids' sporting interests lie with ice hockey. So who is our number 26? This is Daniil.
The lack of serious, career-building racing opportunities for youngsters didn't prevent Dany from pursuing his dream, and to realize those dreams the entire Kvyat family famously upped sticks and moved, lock, stock and barrelful of racing ambition to Italy.
The story that unfolded thereafter is one of seriously rapid development and an astonishing rise to the top, but one backed up by the blossoming of a truly exciting talent.
Here, then, are Daniil's early career highlights.
Karting and a major move
After a first taste of karts aged nine at his local track, and a first taste of competition the following year in Russia's mini karts championship, Daniil's karting career took off when he began to race in Italy with the young hopeful initially commuting from his home city of Ufa in Russia. That, however, proved too difficult, and in 2007 the family moved to Rome.
The transition was hard, but after settling into a new life, the results came quickly. A host of wins in Italian kart competitions such as the Trofeo Internazionale Concorrente and the Trofeo del Grifone showed that the move had been the right choice, and in 2008 Daniil began a rapid climb to the upper reaches of international karting.
In 2008 he finished third in the KF3 European Championship, won the prestigious Torneo Industrie KF3 event, and was runner-up in the CIK/FIA Asia-Pacific Championship. By the following season, he was a regular winner taking victory in the Margutti Cup and the South Garda Winter Cup KF3, and once again he finished third in the KF3 European Championship.
Red Bull Junior Program and the move to single-seaters
The results put the young driver firmly in the spotlight and brought him to the attention of Red Bull Junior Program chief Dr. Helmut Marko. The result was Dany's inclusion in the Red Bull Junior Program and, for 2010, a guest driver seat in Formula BMW Pacific where another milestone was reached: his first single-seater victory at the second event in Sepang, where he won from pole in a race which also featured another promising young racer, Carlos Sainz Junior. The two rookies would take a total of five wins from their drives in the series. "It was an incredible feeling," reflected Dany a year later, a time when victories were becoming standard practice for the young Russian.
European Glory
Dany's guest drives in the Formula BMW Pacific series gave way to a tilt at Britain's Formula Renault Winter Series driving for the Koiranen team. Two podium finishes – at Snetteron and at Pembury – handed him fourth in the overall standings, but it was merely a taste of what the 2011 season would bring. Dany now upped the tempo and took on two separate Renault championships, in the Northern European Cup and the more prestigious Eurocup. The experience of the winter series outings in the UK paid dividends with Daniil winning at the first time of asking – at the opening round in Hockenheim.
The rookie would take another six race wins during the season, the highlight being a final flourish of four wins on the bounce, including a clean sweep of three wins at the final round in Monza. The wins pushed him to second place in the championship, behind his old teammate and sparring partner Carlos Sainz Jr. It was perhaps Dany's two wins in the Eurocup category that brought the most pleasure, with the Russian stating that "the Eurocup wins at Spa and the Nurburgring were big – were very happy moments for me." Four other podium finishes put him third in the standings at the end of the season.
A year to learn, a year to win
With nine wins, four pole positions and 19 podium finishes under his belt, a second season in the 2.0-liter class of Formula Renault looked a sensible choice. Kvyat made the experience he gained in his rookie season in the class tell immediately, winning both races at the opening Alps round at Monza in March and then repeating the feat at the Eurocup weekend at Motorland Aragon in Spain in May.
It was to prove a bittersweet season for the young Russian, however. His battle for both titles went all the way to a joint final round at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain. However, despite seven wins over the course of the season, Dany went into the final Eurocup round needing to win in order to beat Stoffel Vandoorne, who had less wins with four, but who had seized the title lead with seven other podium finishes to Dany's two. Dany's hopes looked good when Vandoorne spun out on lap two, but despite a drive-through penalty and reclaiming the lead, a tire choice on the wet-drying track let the Russian down and he finished eighth, handing the title to Vandoorne by a slim margin.
There was a sweet finish to the weekend and the season, however, as Kvyat wrapped up the Alps title. Dany's seven wins had given him a slender advantage over rival Norman Nato going into the final round, and he looked certain to stretch that by claiming pole for the final race. However, disaster struck when Dany spun off on the wet track after two laps. Fortunately for Kvyat the cause was a tangle with Nato who also spun out. The title was Dany's.
Kvyat joins INFINITI Red Bull Racing Driver Lineup
Daniil Kvyat had his first race weekend appearance for INFINITI Red Bull Racing at the start of the 2015 season. Here is a brief look back at some of Kvyat's memorable moments with INFINITI Red Bull Racing so far:
- Kvyat finishes second, Ricciardo third – a double podium for INFINITI Red Bull Racing at the Hungarian Grand Prix
- Kvyat has a "strong performance" to finish sixth, Ricciardo gets a DNF in an exciting, wet British Grand Prix
- "A great result for the team today" says Horner, as Kvyat finishes fourth and Ricciardo fifth in Monaco
- INFINITI Red Bull Racing: 2015 Formula 1 season preview
- INFINITI Red Bull Racing 2015: Meet the drivers
# # #
