Alexander Albon, Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, Hockenheimring, 2019

Kvyat sees “big potential” in “very fast” Albon

2020 F1 season

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Daniil Kvyat expects his former Toro Rosso team mate Alexander Albon to achieve big things in his first full season since being promoted to Red Bull.

Kvyat drove for Red Bull in 2015, but lost his place at the team four races into the 2016 season. Last year he was passed over for promotion from Toro Rosso in favour of his rookie team mate Albon, a decision he didn’t agree with at the time.

“Put it this way, I wasn’t happy, for sure,” he told the official F1 website. “I cannot say that when I heard the decision I fully understood it and I fully agreed with it. I was a bit like ‘it doesn’t sound right’.

“But if you look at it in a way it can make sense. I’ve been there already and they need new blood, always, they need to promote young drivers, this is what the Red Bull does, it’s OK. In the end after a few days I took and accepted the decision.”

Kvyat’s said Albon’s mid-season promotion means he doesn’t have “the full picture” of how competitive he is. “I did just half a year with him but I enjoyed working with him to be honest. Quite an easygoing personality and sometimes good jokes, sometimes not so good.

“[He’s] a very fast guy. 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.”

This year will be Kvyat’s sixth season at AlphaTauri, previously known as Toro Rosso. When he was dropped by the team in 2017 Kvyat thought there was “no way” Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko would offer him another return.

“But honestly, our goodbye was in a way very normal. There was no hard feelings, I never tried to pinpoint anything. And [Marko] as well, it’s just two business partners. It’s the way you want to see it, [we] just stopped the collaboration.

“Obviously I never said anything bad in the media after that. No I didn’t think a return would be ever possible there. But life sometimes can be very interesting.”

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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4 comments on “Kvyat sees “big potential” in “very fast” Albon”

  1. In 2014-15 I was convinced that Kvyat is going to be the next big thing…but he has not moved in that direction. Now I agree with him that Albon looks like someone, who can make it happen for himself, eventhough a year ago I was rather skeptical about him…

    1. @gpfacts, Personally I’m still sceptical about him. Not that he’s a bad driver; he’s not. Also he doesn’t buckle under pressure like Gasly. But he couldn’t exacty keep up with the top drivers in qualifying last year. He was still well off the pace at the end of the season. I hope this year with equal experience of the car, he can be closer to Verstappen.

      1. @me4me I think your last sentence is the key and is what I have been saying going back to last season…he didn’t have the advantage of pre-season testing with the car and had to pick it up mid-stream. I think he did very well considering that. Averaging 5th or 6th was I think the best RBR could have hoped for and therefore I think his debut for those last 9 races was successful. This year he has had pre-season testing with the car and a chance to sit in on it’s evolution throughout the season (forgetting briefly whatever shape this season takes for a moment).

        As to handling pressure that is always one of my golden questions and I particularly consider it for when drivers have to compete when the pressure is at it’s greatest, like in fighting for wins and Championships. In that regard of course Albon is unproven, but then I also consider Leclerc unproven in the regard. We haven’t really seen how he handles the pressure when at it’s greatest either. Much to come but unquestionably Albon will have his day in the sun to show us his stuff in a top car, and that alone is quite something and an opportunity many many awesome drivers don’t get. He must not squander it, but that goes for all drivers really. See Gasly.

    2. Albon needs to score podiums else replace him with Kvyat.
      Kvyat has proven he can score podiums so he is next in line.

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