Daniil Kvyat thinks his maiden Formula One podium in Hungary came as a result of his going “more in the right direction” after a tough start to his Red Bull career.
Having graduated from Toro Rosso over the winter, the 21-year-old initially suffered from the poor reliability of his Renault power unit, which prevented the Russian from lining up on the Melbourne grid and forced him into retirement in China.
But Kvyat equally admits he might have been slightly out of his depth at the beginning of the season, as highlighted by his performances in qualifying where he struggled to reach Q3 and even failed to make it into Q2 in Bahrain.
“I think, obviously, the beginning of the season wasn't easy for many reasons, and there were a few problems here and there,” said the 2013 GP3 Series champion.
“There were a few reliability issues, which we managed to sort out, and it started to go more in the right direction for me in the second half [of the first 10 races] of the season.
“But it is never easy: there are a few things that I am still getting use to, trying to understand a few other things, but all-in-all it is going quite well.”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner claims Kvyat “has been developing very nicely” since last May’s Monaco Grand Prix where the F1 sophomore secured fourth.
In the wake of his strong Budapest performance, the Russian winds up the first half of the season P8 in the Drivers' standings, only six points adrift of his more experienced team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.
Although the next grand prix is not scheduled for another three weeks at Spa-Francorchamps, Kvyat admits it will be hard for him to take his mind off F1 as he is keen to carry the momentum forward.
“Obviously, it is a break and the break is the same for everybody, but some do it in one way and I will do it in my way.
“I will try to get some rest but I will always keep thinking, even if some people say it is better not to think at all. Somehow you keep thinking a little bit about things, and try and analyse them.
“Sometimes, after the summer break, you can just come back and be another person, and I hope [this will be the case] in a positive way for myself.”
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