Kvyat reflects on do or die season

Russian Formula One driver Daniil Kvyat says that his 2016 season will be one he will struggle to forget after his demotion from Red Bull to Torro Rosso in the middle of the season.

Kvyat scored a pdium finish in China but was sent down to Red Bull racing’s second team Torro Rosso after the Russian Grand Prix with Max Verstappen earning a promotion.

Ultimately Kvyat would do enough to hold on to his place in Formula one with the team confirming his return for the 2017 season.

“It was a survival season, which is not a nice feeling for a driver at all. It felt very long.

“I do love my sport so if the season feels endless it must be a really tough season.

“But I learned a lot about myself and I had a lot of great people around me, we brought in new engineers who were great to me, very supportive.”

After making a big splash in 2015 Kvyat was brought down to earth during the 2016 season and admits he struggled to cope with the changes.

“I had to go through a very big drop in performance because I was not understanding what was going on with everything, the situation had changed,” he said.

“For me it was a bit harder to come in the situation again when I had to fight the car loads.

“It was obviously shocking for me.”

The 22-year-old remains committed to proving himself at this level and is grateful for the support he has received.

“Time cures everything but you have to come through the part where you try to push too much,” he said.

“You then have to calm yourself down because you’re angry with everything, the whole world.

“I felt left completely on my own but looking back now there were a lot of people behind me for who I am very grateful and it’s a great feeling to understand who is on my side.

“I’m going to keep fighting next year, I’ve got an opportunity and you have to be grateful for every day that you live.”