Daniil Kvyat “deserves” a place on the Formula 1 grid but too many incidents cost him his chance with Toro Rosso, according to Team Principal Franz Tost.
The young Russian would compete in his final race for the junior Red Bull team at the United States Grand Prix, actually finishing 10th in Austin to score a point but it wouldn’t be enough to keep his seat after initially being replaced by Pierre Gasly after the Singapore round.
It would mark the end of a difficult two years which saw Kvyat first demoted back to Toro Rosso early in 2016 but now considering options away from F1, Tost believes time away from the grid could help the two-time podium sitter.
“I am still convinced that Daniil has a very high natural speed. He was sometimes even faster than Daniel Riccardo,” he said. “But somehow last year and this year he couldn’t show the potential that is within him. He was involved in many incidents, but in his defence, I also have to say that he had many reliability issues and that didn’t help build up confidence.
“Being the victim of too many incidents killed the performance he would have been able to show. Maybe a short break to get organized again, and probably we will see Daniil back at his usual performance level with another team.”
While Tost still believes Kvyat has the potential, at just 23, the Austrian believes he needs to calm down his driving if he is to have any chance of fulfilling it.
“The first corner was his weak point. He wanted too much in the first hundred metres – success by any means,” the Toro Rosso chief explained. “That puts you under pressure – unnecessary pressure – and that never works.
Nevertheless, he added: “I hope for him that he gets another chance, as I think he deserves to be in F1.”
