Daniil Kvyat

At 30 years old, Daniil Kvyat has this physical status:

Daniil Vyacheslavovich Kvyat (born 26 April 1994), is a Russian auto racing driver currently driving in Formula One for Scuderia Toro Rosso. He was runner-up at the 2012 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, and a champion in 2012 Formula Renault 2.0 Alps Series and 2013 GP3 Series.

He made his debut in Formula One as a Toro Rosso driver in 2014 finishing 15th in the World Championship.

He then moved on to Red Bull Racing to partner Daniel Ricciardo for the 2015 season.

He scored his first Formula One podium finish at the 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix, finishing second behind Sebastian Vettel.

In his first season with Red Bull Racing, Kvyat finished 7th in the Drivers' Championship, ahead of his teammate.

He started the 2016 season with Red Bull Racing, scoring his second podium, finishing third at the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix.

However, following a controversial collision during the opening lap of his home race in Sochi, Kvyat was demoted to Toro Rosso ahead of the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, where he finished the season and was retained by the team for the next season.

Although consistently demonstrating solid qualifying performances in 2017, his season was plagued by various problems, including several retirements in races where he could have scored points.

After the 2017 United States Grand Prix, Kvyat and Red Bull parted ways, effectively terminating his contract.

Kvyat spent 2018 as a development driver for Scuderia Ferrari, before being re-signed by Toro Rosso for the 2019 season.

At the 2019 German Grand Prix Kvyat claimed the third podium of his career by finishing third; this was also Scuderia Toro Rosso's second podium finish after they won the 2008 Italian Grand Prix with Sebastian Vettel.

Early life

Daniil Kvyat was born in Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia, on 26 April 1994 to Vyacheslav and Zulfiya Kvyat. Vyacheslav Kvyat worked for Bashneft, initially as a mechanic at the Novo-Ufan refinery, but rose through the ranks to become the financial director of the export division until 1996. Later he branched out and worked with other energy companies, ending up as CFO of West Siberian Energy. At the same time he stood for election as a Deputy in the Bashkortostan state parliament.

Personal life

Kvyat lived in Ufa, Russia, until 2000 when his family moved to Moscow. This is where he first raced go-karts before first moving to Western Europe and racing competitively. Kvyat currently lives in Monaco. In addition to his native Russian, he is also fluent in Italian, Spanish, and English, and has some ability in speaking Finnish and Dutch.

Rules introduced for the 2014 Formula One World Championship allowed the drivers to pick their own racing numbers that they will carry with them for the rest of their careers. When asked about which number he wanted, Kvyat revealed that 26 was the number he had chosen as he had no previous connection to it, and that he wanted to make it successful.

Kvyat's hobbies include table tennis, football, wakeboarding and skiing. He also likes heavy metal music, and has cited Metallica's "Whiskey in the Jar" cover and Motörhead's "Ace of Spades" as his two favourite songs. He plays the guitar.

Until November 2015, Kvyat was one of the few drivers in motor racing to have an FIA Super Licence, but not a regular driving licence in his native Russia.

In January 2017, Kvyat began dating Kelly Piquet, daughter of three-time F1 World Champion Nelson Piquet. The couple's first child, a daughter, was born in July 2019. The pair split in December 2019.

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Career

Kvyat made his professional debut in motorsports in January 2005, winning his first race in Sochi. During the 2005 and 2006 seasons, Kvyat took part in local competitions, including the Russian karting championship and cup, as well as in occasional Italian championships. He later moved to Italy to fully concentrate on racing in one of the most competitive environments, despite consistently displaying good results. Franco Pellegrini's crew was the first professional team in Italy for Kvyat.

During the winter of 2007, Kvyat's family travelled to Italy to continue his contributions, as shown by his good results. The young driver's parents stayed with him irregularly, and he began training in Italian school, as well as participating in local tournaments. Kvyat, a well-known entrepreneur, who had already established himself in the Italian karting scene, has signed a deal with the Zanardi factory team, led by well-known boss Dino Chiesa, ahead of the 2008 season. Kvyat joined the KF3 junior category and became a member of the prestigious World Series Karting collection. However, the Russian driver and Zanardi's cooperation did not result in any success. He achieved European Championship qualification, but Kvyat switched teams just before the championships were set to join privateers from Morsicani Racing, who used an FA Kart chassis. The new partnership, Kvyat, who had tested the new kart of the previous team just a few days before the championship, not only made it to the finals but was competing for the victory.

Several prestigious competitions, including the WSK rounds and the Bridgestone Cup, were won by Kvyat and Morsicani Racing. The Russians beat Nyck de Vries, a former Zanardi teammate who was now a protégé of the McLaren Formula One team, who was still a student of the McLaren Formula 1 team. In the final heat of which Kvyat finished ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi and Rafaele Marchiello, future Ferrari Academy members, Kvyat also won the Trofeo delle Industrie.

At the start of the 2009 season, Kvyat's European winning streak began. The Morsicani Racing driver won the prestigious Winter Cup in the KF3 class, then won more in the WSK rounds in Sarno and Le-Castellet. His victory in the Winter Cup was especially impressive because he made it to the top of the podium after starting from last place on the grid, where Kvyat found himself in the midst of a catastrophic failure in qualifying. Kvyat first came to the final heat, and then, starting from P3, he won the contest, defeating Carlos Sainz Jr along the way. Kvyat became one of the WSK's most prominent figures and began to attract sponsors' notice. He obtained support from the Russian Lukoil company in the spring. However, Red Bull noticed the young driver, who was also identified by them. Kvyat took part in his first testing session in an open-wheel car, arranged by Red Bull alongside Carlos Sainz Jr, another contender for the Red Bull Junior Team, during the summer. Both drivers left a good impression and signed contracts with the Austrian firm.

Kvyat continued to compete in karting, winning the bronze medal at the 2009 European Championships one more time, but was unable to make the finals of the World Cup in Sarno. It began to rain and his lap time was not quick enough in comparison to the times recorded by drivers on the dry track during the qualifying session slot, which was selected for Kvyat by the team. During the qualifying heats, he was barely possible, primarily because the team had chosen to place bets on their second driver, Italian Guliano Maria Niceta. After the World Cup and joined the Intrepid factory crew, Kvyat decided to part with Angelo Morsicani's staff. In the last two races of the WSK season, he competed for Intrepid, winning the final one. The Red Bull Junior Team's decision to advance Kvyat to the next level, straight into the Formula BMW cockpit for the 2010 season was the last victory of his career in karting.

Kvyat travelled to Malaysia with the Eurointernational team, which was preparing both the Red Bull juniors and the Red Bull juniors, to compete in the Formula BMW Asian Championship, where he won his first race of the European season. However, his first attempts back in Europe were not particularly fruitful. Sainz, who had more tests to do before his debut in open-wheelers, was the first to produce a result. However, Kvyat had already improved results by mid-season. For the first time in Germany, he qualified in the front row for the first time, and after that he ran every race in the points, including the final round in Monza, where he finished in second place for the first time in his debut European season. Two weeks later, Kvyat won a race in the Asian Championships in Singapore, putting an end to his Formula BMW campaign. The Bavarian firm had earlier announced the closing of their open-wheel program by the end of the 2010 season, so Kvyat will not continue to compete in the series.

Kvyat went for a pre-season boot camp in New Zealand to compete in the Toyota Racing Series ahead of the 2011 season in Europe. He competed in four rounds for the Victory Motor Racing team, placing fifth in the championship after winning in the Dan Higgins Trophy at Manfeild and another five podiums.

In the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 finale in Barcelona and a fourth-place finish in the Formula Renault UK Winter Series, Kvyat and his Formula BMW and Red Bull Junior teammate Carlos Sainz Jr., remained with Koiranen in full 2011 in both the Eurocup and the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup. With seven victories, including a hat-trick of victories at Monza, he came in second, second, behind Sainz, Jr. He was outpaced by former Formula BMW star Robin Frijns and Sainz, who both won two games at Spa and the Nürburgring.

Kvyat remained in Formula Renault for 2012, competing in both Formula Renault 2.0 Alps and the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 series. Monza's debut in the Alps championship came with a landslide. He returned to the Eurocup in May and won twice in the first round of the season at Motorland Aragón. Stoffel Vandoorne, Kvyat's top competitor in the Eurocup, won four races over Kvyat's six, but he never finished a single race below P4. After losing with Oliver Rowland, Kvyat lost points at Nürburgring due to a wrong tyre pick by his team's staff and at Hungaroring. In the last round of the championship in Barcelona, the winner of the title was determinable. Although the circuit was drying up after the rain, Koiranen's GP made the wrong call and purchased wet tyres for Kvyat; the majority of the other drivers on the grid were on slick tires; So, having lost multiple positions in the last segment of the competition, Kvyat did not receive enough points to win the title. The Russians were fighting Norman Nato in the Alps sequence. Just a few hours after the conclusion of the Eurocup race, Barcelona held the series finale. Two title candidates crashed out, and Kvyat claimed the title despite being higher overall points in the championship. For 2013, the Russian driver remained with the Red Bull Junior Team and advanced to the GP3 Series.

Kvyat spent 2013 with MW Arden and the European Formula 3 championship with Carlin Motorsport. Kvyat was a late registration for the new series, and so he was ineligible for points. At Zandvoort, he had five pole positions, seven podiums, and a landslide victory. Victory over his first victory was an unusual feat on the part of event promoters: there was no evidence of National Anthem of Russia at Zandvoort, nor was it accompanied by the Russian National Anthem of Russia, and "The Patriotic Song" by Mikhail Glinka was played instead to honor Kvyat's victory. Helmut Marko, head of the Red Bull Junior Team, offered him a contract as a Formula One racer after this series.

After a bad season in Formula 3, Carlos Sainz Jr joined Kvyat as a teammate once more in GP3. Both drivers were unable to find proper settings for the cars, and both Kvyat and Sainz failed in the season opener. After the Arden engineers mastered the Pirelli tyres, they were able to keep up with the leaders after a few rounds. Kvyat earned his first podium appearance in the series at Hungaroring in July and then won the race in Spa in August to lower the points gap between him and the leaders in the drivers' standings. He came to Abu Dhabi as a championship contender and won the championship for the first time in his debut year. Both races were outstanding, with Kvyat winning a pole, leading every lap, and a record-breaking lap.

Kvyat joined the Scuderia Toro Rosso (STR) Formula One team for the 2014 season, as a second driver, alongside Frenchman Jean-Éric Vergne. Daniel Ricciardo was drafted out of the team's Red Bull Racing after he was transferred to the parent company Red Bull Racing. He appeared in a test driver for STR on Friday for the final two Grand Prix of the 2013 season in both the United States and Brazil. Kvyat made his F1 debut in the 2014 Australian Grand Prix, where he made it into the top ten in qualifying and finished 9th in the series, beating Sebastian Vettel's record as the youngest points scorer in Formula One. He went on to score points in the Malaysian, Chinese, British, and Belgian Grands Prix, finishing 15th in the World Championship. In September, the organisers of the inaugural Russian Grand Prix declared their intention of naming a stand in the Sochi Autodrom after him.

Sebastian Vettel, the quadruple world champions, was promoted to Red Bull for the 2015 season to replace Sebastian Vettel, who will move to Ferrari. With a second-place finish at the 2015 Budapest Grand Prix, he earned his first podium appearance in the sport, the highest finish for a Russian driver in Formula One. As a result, Kvyat, who lived 21 years, 91 days, became the second-youngest driver to reach a podium finish after Vettel. Kvyat crashed straight into the barriers in qualifying for the 2015 Japanese Grand Prix, effectively flipping the car. He was uninjured and placed 13th in the run-up to the next day. Kvyat finished the 2015 season with 95 points and 7th place in the Drivers' World Championship, beating his race winning teammate Daniel Ricciardo by three points.

The 2016 season was a challenge once more, but Kvyat finished third in the third round, guaranteeing Red Bull Racing's first podium position in the new season. However, team captain Tim Kvyat collided with Sebastian Vettel's car at the start of his home Grand Prix, and Toro Rosso's team decided to demote Kvyat back to Toro Rosso.

Red Bull revealed in the week after the Russian Grand Prix that Max Verstappen would be replacing Kvyat in the Spanish Grand Prix's following round, with Kvyat returning to Toro Rosso with Carlos Sainz Jr. "Anyone will be able to continue his growth at Toro Rosso in a team with whom he is familiar with," Red Bull's team principal Christian Horner says, "giving him the opportunity to regain his form and showcase his potential." Kvyat spent some time adjusting to the team and the new car, but he recovered to good form in qualifying and racing, posting several top results. After much rumors, Kvyat had been sent to Toro Rosso for 2017 ahead of the United States Grand Prix.

Despite the fact that the first phase of the championship looked promising, with both the car and the pilots achieving high speeds and occasionally making it to the top ten, Kvyat's season was marred by various issues, including several retirements due to technological mishaps and occasional driver mistakes. Toro Rosso announced on September 26th that following a string of underwhelming results from the Russian, Toro Rosso made the decision to swap Kvyat for the forthcoming Malaysian Grand Prix with Frenchman Pierre Gasly. "This is not a case of goodbye for our Daniil, while remaining a member of the Red Bull Family," Toro Rosso said in a tweet that informed the decision to stand down. Following colleague Carlos Sainz Jr.'s transfer to Renault, Kvyat returned to racing in the United States Grand Prix, and Gasly attending the 2017 Super Formula Championship finale in Suzuka, Kvyat returned to racing for Toro Rosso. Despite winning a points finish, Toro Rosso chose not to retain his seat once more as Toro Rosso chose to work with Brendon Hartley of New Zealand and celebrate Gasly's return to complete the team's two in preparations for Mexico. Kvyat will not return to the team and will be kicked out of the Red Bull driver training program in the week between the United States and Mexican Grand Prix, according to Helmut Marko.

Williams technical director Paddy Lowe said on the day of the Mexican Grand Prix that Williams were considering him as a candidate for the 2018 season.

Kvyat became Ferrari's third driver after struggling to find a racing seat for the 2018 season. During a Pirelli wet weather test in April 2018, while primarily focusing on the team's simulator, Kvyat drove the Ferrari SF71H at Maranello, Kvyat for the first time at Fiorano.

Kvyat has rejoined Toro Rosso as a pilot for the 2019 season, replacing Red Bull-bound Pierre Gasly. For the third time in his career, Kvyat competed in Formula One for the third time in his career. Alexander Albon, a Thai driver who climbed from the FIA Formula 2 Championships, started racing alongside him. During the first half of the season, Kvyat put in solid results, earning six points out of twelve races. However, he was forced to retire in China and Azerbaijan, both as a result of collision damage. His points culminated in his 7th place in Monaco, a 9th position in the United Kingdom, after starting from the back row of the grid and a spectacular podium finish in the rain-affected German Grand Prix. This came after a call to pit for dry-weather tyres before the remainder of the field and Lance Stroll's overtake. This was Kvyat's third podium appearance in his career, as well as Toro Rosso's first podium appearance since winning the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.

Albon's teammate, Kvyat, was promoted to Red Bull in August to replace Pierre Gasly, who had been demoted back to Toro Rosso during the summer break leading up to the Belgian Grand Prix. Some questioned the decision not to promote Kvyat instead because he had outperformed Albon in the first half of the season. The Red Bull defended the move by saying they wanted to see Albon for the remainder of the season in order to determine who would replace Max Verstappen on the team in 2020. After beginning in 19th due to power unit penalties, Kvyat put on a good show in Belgium and finished in seventh position, up from seventh place. After suffering an oil leak, he announced his third retirement of the season. In the remainder of the season, Kvyat had three more points placed; two 10th-place finishes in Japan and Brazil; and a 9th-place finish in Abu Dhabi. He also excelled in the points in Mexico and the United States, but he was also suspended for causing last-lap accidents in both races, effectively dropping him out of the rankings. With 37 points, Kvyat finished in 13th place in the championship this season.

AlphaTauri (previously Toro Rosso) has kept Kvyat and Gasly for the 2020 season. Due to a suspension suspension, Kvyat retired from the first race of the season (the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix) in the first race of the season. With a tenth-place finish at the Styrian Grand Prix, he earned his first point of the season. He retired at the British Grand Prix after a big crash into the barriers that was caused by a tyre failure. After a string of overtakes on Alexander Albon, Sergio Pérez, and Charles Leclerc after the Safety car returned, Kvyat placed fourth in the 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

With 32 points, the Russian finished 14th in the standings, behind teammate Pierre Gasly who scored 75 points and finished tenth. Yuki Tsunoda replaced Kvyat at AlphaTauri for 2021, and his deal was not renewed, and he was fired from AlphaTauri.

Together with Zhou Guanyu, Kvyat was Alpine's reserve driver in 2021, alongside Zhou Guanyu.

In the FIA World Endurance Championship, Kvyat was entered to drive for G-Drive Racing in the LMP2 class. Rene Binder and James Allen were among the competitors. However, G-Drive withdrew on March 6, two weeks before the first race of the season, in reaction to the FIA's conditions following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions and limitations against Russian athletes, according to Kvyat, are "unfair and discriminatory."

In December 2017, Kvyat put on a young driver performance for the NASC Whelen Euro Series race. Kvyat was involved in numerous NASCAR Cup Series events throughout 2021 and 2022, including at Martinsville Speedway and Road America, as well as appearing in multiple teams' garages.

Kvyat is expected to begin with three sets in the NASCAR Cup Series for Team Hezeberg, with his car running the same number he used in Formula One, 26. After recovering from the sport with suspension problems, he made his NASCAR debut in the 2022 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, finishing in 36th position in 36th place.

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