Former F1 star remains in Helmut Marko talks over ‘Netflix scenario’ comeback
Daniil Kvyat has kept in touch with the F1 paddock since leaving.
Former Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat has said he still keeps in touch with Helmut Marko, and has said “why not?” to the prospect of coming back to the grid one day.
He has had multiple stints in Formula 1 already, but the 29-year-old has broadened his horizons in endurance racing since leaving the grid and kept his hand in the paddock with a reserve stint at Alpine.
Kvyat admitted the “easiest thing” for him to drive is a Formula 1 car to the limit, and acknowledged that another return to the grid would be something from a “Hollywood” script.
Daniil Kvyat admits F1 comeback would represent ‘Netflix scenario’
Kvyat had been dropped from Formula 1 but found a way back onto the grid after Daniel Ricciardo’s abrupt departure from the Red Bull stable, moving across to Renault in time for 2019.
This gave Kvyat a second chance at Toro Rosso, and third stint at Red Bull’s junior team in total, and the Russian said he still keeps in touch with Red Bull’s motorsport boss after their long-held association together.
Should he make another spectacular comeback, however, he admitted it would be a dramatic one.
“I keep in touch with Helmut from time to time,” Kvyat told Formula1.com.
“I also recently spoke with Franz [Tost] and I’ll try to go skiing with him now that he’s retiring. But I’ll always keep an eye on F1.
“In the end, whatever I drive, you can see that there’s a bit of an F1 style. The easiest thing for me is to jump back in an F1 car and take it to the limit again.
“I mean now, if I had to ever come back to F1, it’s more like a Hollywood or Netflix scenario! But why not?”
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Having had multiple stints in Formula 1, Kvyat had been hoping for a way back onto the grid but found the doors were closed to him a couple of years ago.
He has since found drives elsewhere, taking on LMP2 racing and NASCAR, and will step up to Hypercars in the World Endurance Championship with Lamborghini this year.
This different experience he has under his belt now makes him believe he’s more “adaptable” as a result.
“All the F1 teams were quite stable at the time with their drivers, so it was tricky,” Kvyat said.
“When you lose a year, it’s a little bit more difficult to come back. I drove a few races in NASCAR and I liked it a lot.
“You really have to start from zero there, which I don’t mind. There was no b******t, pretty much, and the racing was wild!
“Now, in the WEC, it’s a good schedule. It’s a different kind of racing, which also takes time to get used to, to adapt and learn a few tricks here and there.
“I like driving different cars because it helps to adapt to different things, and I think now I’m a more adaptable driver. As a driver that’s what I’m looking for – constant progress.”
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