Earlier this month, former Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat spoke about how he rejected Ferrari’s offer to stay in Milton Keynes in 2016. It turned out to be a decision that potentially started the downfall of his career as just a few months later, Kvyat was demoted to their sister team, Toro Rosso.
Driving for Ferrari is a dream for just about every young driver who dreams of making it to F1. Daniil Kvyat, however, who was driving for Red Bull at the time, wanted to stay with the team that helped him find his feet in the sport. The team, on the other hand, did not consider him to be a top driver and replaced him with someone who they thought was.
🚨 | In 2016, Daniil Kvyat was offered a contract by Ferrari to replace Kimi Raikkönen. He chose to stay with Red Bull but was forced to go back to Toro Rosso a few months later.
“It was a very difficult situation for me mentally […]”
[via @tracklimits_pod]#F1 pic.twitter.com/ouWkmT6GCa
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) April 15, 2023
Max Verstappen, who was just 18 years old at the time, got the nod to join Red Bull midway into the 2016 season. To fill the vacant spot left behind by the Dutchman, Kvyat was demoted back to Toro Rosso. This was something that Kvyat considered to be a betrayal.
Daniil Kvyat on how Red Bull “stabbed him in the back”
In the Track Limits podcast, Kvyat spoke about his time at Red Bull. For helping him pave his way into F1, the Russian driver will always remain thankful to Red Bull. However, for demoting him to Toro Rosso and potentially kickstarting the downfall of his career, a part of him will be unhappy forever.
“I felt really betrayed at that moment,” says Kvyat. “It was a stab in the back. “That’s life. You get stabbed in the back sometimes, you know. It’s normal, now it’s in the past.”
Daniil Kvyat says he felt betrayed after he was forced to go back to Toro Rosso ahead of the Spanish GP in 2016.
“Part of me is very thankful to Red Bull, part of me is still very unhappy with them.”
[via @tracklimits_pod]#F1 pic.twitter.com/j5G83WlNWU
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) April 17, 2023
Kvyat went on to mention that now, he has a great career in racing elsewhere and isn’t dwelling on his underwhelming past with Red Bull. The Ufa-born driver is currently driving for Prema in the World Endurance Championship and insists that he is enjoying his stint thoroughly.
Red Bull’s history of being harsh on second drivers
Being a second driver at Red Bull is never easy. Even during the days of Sebastian Vettel’s dominance, Mark Webber complained about how he was being unfairly treated by Red Bull who considered Vettel to be the main man.
Awkward 😬
Red Bull’s ‘Multi 21’ controversy happened #OnThisDay in 2013#F1 pic.twitter.com/gndhi911cu
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 24, 2020
During Verstappen’s stint, however, things have been worse for his teammates as a whole. Pierre Gasly too, like Daniil Kvyat lost out on his Red Bull seat just midway into his first year with them and was subsequently demoted to Toro Rosso.
Currently, Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez seems to be fairing better than most of his predecessors. However, the gap between him and Verstappen is still staggeringly large.
