Kvyat: Gasly situation different to mine at Red Bull

Daniil Kvyat does not see any similarities between Pierre Gasly’s current struggles at Red Bull and his own when he raced for the team that ultimately led to him being dropped in 2016.

Kvyat spent one full season with Red Bull in 2015 before being demoted to its B-team, Toro Rosso, four races into the 2016 campaign, with Max Verstappen stepping up in his place.

Kvyat has since been dropped twice mid-season by Toro Rosso before leaving the team altogether, only to return in 2019 in a race seat.

Gasly is currently under pressure after a disappointing start to life with Red Bull that has seen him fail to match team leader Verstappen’s results, leading to questions about his future.

Asked about the challenge and pressure Gasly currently faces at Red Bull, Kvyat said it was difficult to compare the two situations.

“I think things were different for me back then. It’s hard to say how every driver feels in different situations,” Kvyat said.

“It’s hard to compare these kinds of things. I know it wasn’t easy this period. In F1 it can never be easy.
 
“There were many things going on, but I also had some good races at that time too. At that time for me, since I joined Red Bull, it was straight away a lot of things going on. It was generally OK.

“I don’t know how it is for different people. For myself, I know I’m quite a different driver to then, to that period.”

Kvyat’s name has been linked with a potential return to Red Bull should the team lose faith in Gasly, but the Russian knocked back the speculation.

“I haven’t been following rumours regarding that. Rumours come and go - my job doesn’t change,” Kvyat said.

“I’m a Toro Rosso driver now. My intention is to give good results for Toro Rosso right now.

“Before coming into the season, I said I would let my driving to do the talking. I intend to keep it that way.”