Kvyat: F1 stewards understood they were harsh on me

Daniil Kvyat says he shared some truths with the Formula 1 stewards following the Chinese Grand Prix and feels they knew his penalty for clashing with the McLarens was too hard on him.

The Toro Rosso driver was slapped with a drive-through penalty for his part in the Lap 1 collision with both McLaren driver Carlos Sainz Jr and Lando Norris, effectively wrecking his race, before retiring late on due to damage from incident.

The clash occured with Kvyat on the inside of the corner, just ahead of Sainz on the outside of him, which saw him clip the Spanish driver which then sent him into Norris who was attempting to get back on the track having gone wide.

After the race Kvyat vented his frustration at the penalty from FIA F1 race stewards and went to discuss it with them. Despite preferring to keep what was said private he believes the stewards accepted their penalty was “quite harsh” on him considering neither McLaren driver was penalised.

“We spoke, I think we found a good understanding but we disagreed on a few things,” Kvyat said. “It was a very long meeting and I think they kind of understand that they were quite harsh, I could feel it in their post-race conversation.

“I think it was a normal lap-one incident — one car coming from off the track and one car being sandwiched and I think to left enough space for one car certainly.

“The other car basically goes in the chain reaction, which was the car behind me, and then it was just a normal chain reaction. I didn’t see how that incident deserved a drive-through penalty, that’s for sure.”

With his feelings aired, Kvyat is eager to move on from the incident and hopes the stewards take into account the situation next time.

“We want to respect this agreement,” he said. “It’s just that I think the incident was a very basic first-lap sandwich misunderstanding.

“There were three cars in one corner on exit. It was a chain reaction incident and I got hit. That’s what I felt, I got hit from behind. That’s all I felt. So, for me it was very clear.”