Kvyat hails 'best qualifying lap in my life'

AlphaTauri's Daniil Kvyat says he achieved probably the best qualifying lap in his F1 career in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, an effort that yielded a P7 position in the final shootout.

Kvyat reckons he perfectly "put it together" in Q3 with a hot lap Yas Marina's 5.54km layout that allowed him to clock in just 0.717s off the pole time set by pacesetter Max Verstappen.

"I think that’s probably the best qualifying lap of my life!" enthused the Russian at the end of the session.

"I’m very happy with today, it feels great to put it together here in Abu Dhabi as it’s a long track with many corners.

"We knew we could be competitive, but it was hard to understand the tyres this weekend. I think we did a good job in understanding everything at the right time for qualifying, so I’ll enjoy the feeling for another hour or so.

"Then, my focus will turn to tomorrow’s race. Starting from P7, we’ve given ourselves a good foundation and hopefully, we’ll be able to capitalise on today’s result."

Kvyat has outqualified teammate Pierre Gasly twice in the last two races, and achieved his best result of the year at Imola where he finished fourth. The Russian says his recent gains are rooted in a better understanding of his car.

"Me and my side of the garage have understood the car better," he said. "When I get exactly what I want from the car I can go very fast also on Saturday.

"It was a good lesson to understand this and we really clicked generally in the second half of the year but also in our last three or four races I feel very happy with the car.

"When I get a car to my liking, I can be very fast and now I hope everyone can see the result I can achieve. I like the car the way it is now, so let’s finish this season on a high."

• 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Qualifying results

Alas, the 26-year-old will be absent from next year's grid in all likelihood as Red Bull is set to promote F2 charger Yuki Tsunoda to Alphatauri.

But that hasn't deterred Kvyat from giving it his all lately as he targets a return to F1 in 2022.

"I always keep mushing it doesn't matter if I'm not in F1 next year," he said.

"Last three or four races and qualifying were really strong. So it's all about laying a good foundation to come back in 2022.

"Last week was perfect lap, today was perfect lap in qualie again. I want to come back and I know that I can fight for the championship in the right car.

"I have no doubt about that. My target number one - if I'm not in F1 next year - is to come back in 2022."

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