Daniil Kvyat admits he initially didn’t understand Red Bull choosing Alex Albon over him to replace Pierre Gasly last summer.
The Milton Keynes-based outfit faced a dilemma with their drivers after Gasly struggled for competitiveness alongside Max Verstappen and often found himself battling with the upper midfield teams.
Eventually, Helmut Marko’s patience ran out during the August break, but rather than opt for the experience of Kvyat, Red Bull gave Albon a nine-race trial in only his first year in Formula 1.
“I was certainly not happy, that ‘s clear,” the Russian, who had finished on the podium for Toro Rosso in Germany just a few weeks before Red Bull’s decision told the Beyond the Grid F1 podcast.
“I can’t say that I understood it completely and fully agreed when I heard it. It was a little strange after all.”
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However, it soon dawned on Red Bull why they had opted for Albon.
“I’ve already driven there and they needed new blood, they had to promote a young driver, that’s what Red Bull does,” he added. “After a few days I accepted the decision.”
The Thai driver soon impressed coming through the field to finish fifth in Belgium and would claim a top-six finish at every race bar Brazil, when he was taken out by Lewis Hamilton while on course for his first podium.
Of course, while Albon’s performances have now reduced Kvyat’s chances of a future return to Red Bull, the 26-year-old admits he was impressed by him.
“[He’s] a very fast guy,” he said. “But when you come in on Formula 1, you have this rookie flow, everything comes easy to you.
“I think he’s going to discover more and more of this world but he also has room because he’s been a rookie last year, he has room to even improve more. So I think he has big potential for sure.”
