Kvyat’s P4 in Imola not down to good luck

Mark Scott
Daniil Kvyat PA

Daniil Kvyat PA

Franz Tost has said it was strategy, not good luck, that ensured Daniil Kvyat finished a very impressive P4 at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

An extended Safety Car period to recover the cars of Max Verstappen and George Russell following separate incidents sparked a late flurry of action at Imola, especially in the fight for the final spot on the podium.

And Kvyat was one of the lively outsiders after AlphaTauri opted to pit the Russian driver and give him fresh tyres to attack with in the closing few laps.

It worked out a treat as he was able to find a way past Sergio Perez, Alex Albon and Charles Leclerc. P3 ultimately went to Daniel Ricciardo for the second time in three races, but P4 is still an excellent result for Kvyat.

After the race, AlphaTauri boss Tost refuted the notion that pure good luck was involved for Kvyat to finish in those lofty heights.

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“We were not lucky, we took the right decision,” Tost said as quoted by GPFans.

“All the other teams could have done the same, some of them did it, some did not. We did it and we got something out of it, three places at the end.”

“With more laps to go, I think he would have had a good chance to overtake [Ricciardo].

“Daniil was also good in qualifying. He likes the track, he was very happy with the car and he showed a really good performance.

“Currently, we have quite a competitive car. We were fast in Spa, we were fast in Monza, we had a good race at the Nürburgring where we finished sixth, we did a good race in Portimão and we also had a competitive car in Imola.

“I am positive that we will also have a competitive car in Istanbul.”

AlphaTauri are just 14 points behind sixth-placed Ferrari in the World Constructors’ Championship with four races left in the 2020 campaign.

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