Kvyat sensed shock podium was on after late slick switch
Daniil Kvyat sensed a top-three finish was within his reach after making a late switch to slick tyres in Sunday's German Grand Prix, sending him on his way to Toro Rosso's first podium for 11 years.
Kvyat was one of the first drivers to make the switch from Intermediate to slick tyres with 20 laps to go, allowing him to jump all the way from 12th to third when the rest of the field came in one lap later to make the same change.
Daniil Kvyat sensed a top-three finish was within his reach after making a late switch to slick tyres in Sunday's German Grand Prix, sending him on his way to Toro Rosso's first podium for 11 years.
Kvyat was one of the first drivers to make the switch from Intermediate to slick tyres with 20 laps to go, allowing him to jump all the way from 12th to third when the rest of the field came in one lap later to make the same change.
The Russian then managed to overtake Lance Stroll for second place before losing the position to Sebastian Vettel with three laps to go, but nevertheless secured a shock podium for Toro Rosso - arguably the stand-out result on a remarkable day of racing.
"It’s an incredible race for myself with a lot of things going on, the same for everyone. The beginning of the race was so-so, we were always somewhere around the top 10, and I thought some points were possible today," Kvyat said.
"The first time when I chose to go on slicks, it was the wrong moment then. The second time, I think was the perfect moment. When I saw the others pit after I did, I thought 'it’s our moment', and I was right.
"I exited the pits in P3, had to overtake Stroll for P2, and then from there on just hope the quicker cars would take time to catch me at the end of the race."
The result marked just the second podium finish in Toro Rosso's 14-year history - the first coming via Sebastian Vettel's victory at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix - and came less than 24 hours since the birth of Kvyat's first child.
"I’m very happy with the podium. It’s a fantastic race for the team, 11 years since the last podium Sebastian did in 2008," Kvyat said.
"I think everyone is really happy today and from my side of course, I would dedicate this podium to my girlfriend, Kelly, and to my daughter."