7 Years After Being Called Torpedo, Daniil Kvyat Gives a Nickname to Sebastian Vettel to Make Things Even

The 2016 Chinese Grand Prix had quite a few iconic moments. The most memorable of all of them was the cooldown room episode between Sebastian Vettel and Daniil Kvyat when Vettel compared the Russian to a torpedo. 7 years later, it was Kvyat’s turn to hand Vettel a nickname, and he chose quite an interesting one.

Lap 1 of the Chinese GP 2016 saw a collision between Ferrari teammates Vettel and Raikkonen. However, according to Vettel, it happened because he could not take avoiding action as the Red Bull of Kvyat had suddenly appeared on the inside line. Vettel finished the race in P2, with Kvyat in P3.

Following the race, Vettel argued with Kvyat in the cool-down room. The German said, “You came in like a Torpedo!” to which Kvyat replied that it was just hard racing. Vettel’s comments went viral among fans instantly, and Kvyat was henceforth known as the torpedo for his aggressive racing style.

Daniil Kvyat thinks Vettel screams a lot

Daniil Kvyat recently appeared on the Track Limits podcast, where the host asked him what he thought about the nickname given to him by Vettel. Kvyat replied that he did not think much of it then, and he did not care much either. He explained that people quickly pick up trends, and his name was just another example of it.

The host then went on to ask Kvyat if he would like to give Vettel a nickname and settle the issue. The Russian obliged and called Vettel a “Professional Screamer.” He explained, “He likes to scream a lot on the radio.”

However, Kvyat also mentioned that Vettel has calmed down a lot more with age. But he maintained that the four-time World Champion used to scream a lot when the stakes were high.

The downhill path for Kvyat

The 2016 Chinese GP was the second of his three podiums in F1. He was demoted to Toro Rosso midway through 2016 and was replaced by Max Verstappen. After that, he had several spells with Toro Rosso and their renamed version – AlphaTauri, but Kvyat could never really make it big.

After a third spell at Red Bull’s sister team, Kvyat was let go after 2020. He subsequently joined Alpine as a reserve driver for 2021 alongside Guanyu Zhou but left at the season’s end.

He then participated in other motorsports disciplines, most notably NASCAR and Formula E. Currently, he plies his trade in the World Endurance Championship with Prema Racing.