Ex-Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat has admitted that he found former team-mate Daniel Ricciardo’s personality a “bit too much”, but that himself and the Australian “got along well” when racing for the Austrians.
Kvyat spent just over a season racing for Red Bull alongside Ricciardo, with the Russian driver having been promoted from Toro Rosso (known now as AlphaTauri) to Red Bull in 2015 to replace Sebastian Vettel, who moved to Ferrari.
Whilst Kvyat was awarded the nickname the ‘Torpedo’, the Russian performed well in his first full season at Red Bull, to the extent where he finished above Ricciardo in the Drivers’ Championship.
Considering Ricciardo finished above Vettel in 2014, that was actually quite a big deal for Kvyat; however, things unravelled quickly in the opening rounds of 2016.
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Whilst he claimed a podium at the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix, Kvyat was dropped by Red Bull for Max Verstappen at the Spanish Grand Prix that season, after Kvyat caused too many collisions.
Being demoted back to Toro Rosso was somewhat the beginning of the end of his F1 career, given that he never managed to get back into a leading team.
Ricciardo on the other hand, remains a “big superstar” despite not even being on the grid this season, with him having remained as a popular character the last few seasons despite underperforming at midfield teams.
Kvyat recalls being told that Ricciardo was “the best driver on the grid” when he was promoted to Red Bull, with it certainly having been a big challenge for the Russian.
“Daniel Ricciardo at the time was like a big superstar, and when I came into the team, he just beat Vettel so there was a lot of hype around him in the team and everywhere,” Kvyat told the ‘Track Limits’ podcast.
“So, everyone was like, ‘Yeah, he’s the man to beat now. He’s probably the best driver on the grid right now’.”
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Kvyat went on to discuss Ricciardo’s immense popularity which he’s built since he entered the paddock for the first time, whilst joking that his bubbly nature is a “bit too much for me”.
“On top of his racing ability, Ricciardo has been a huge personality since he first entered the paddock in 2010 and is very popular amongst fans,” added Kvyat.
“My impression of him was he was the man at the time, very funny personality so very attractive for media – bit too much for me – but no, we got along well.”