Daniil Kvyat says drivers need to build plenty of confidence to master Circuit de Monaco, the 2-mile track winding up and down the Monte Carlo streets that will host round six of this year’s world championship next weekend.
The Russian has only raced once at the iconic venue before but his stunning 2014 qualifying performance – he secured P9 on the grid for Toro Rosso – shows the 21-year-old has quickly got the gist of Formula One’s jewel in the crown.
“It’s a real ‘confidence’ circuit,” says Kvyat. “You need to be in tune with it. You need to find yourself, find the flow, you need to find the right approach mentally and with the car and then you just have to make it happen.
“In the beginning it’s a big test. To go out and find that confidence is not easy and you always question yourself, asking ‘when is it going to happen, when am I going to feel it enough to really go for it’.
“But at some point in the weekend it just happens, you find the rhythm and the lap time comes. When it works like that, when you get yourself in the right place and you find a good understanding with the track, it’s great.”
Having graduated to Toro Rosso’s parent team over the winter, Kvyat has experienced a challenging Red Bull debut so far, although his progress has more often than not been blighted by Renault’s poor engine reliability.
The 2013 GP3 champion did show improved qualifying pace in Spain where he beat his more experienced team-mate Daniel Ricciardo on Saturday for the first time this year.
But Kvyat eventually slipped down the order during the race and even clashed with fellow Red Bull stablemate Carlos Sainz on the final lap after the Spaniard overtook him for P9.
The Russian is currently 15th in the Drivers’ standings with five points to his name, and sits behind both Toro Rosso rookies.
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