Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsRed Bull Racing

Kvyat 'understands F1 better' after tough 2015

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Red Bull Racing's Daniil Kvyat says that he has a better understanding of Formula One as he prepares for this second season with the team in 2016.

The young Russian admitted earlier this month that his sudden rise from the Toro Rosso junior squad into the spotlight at the main Red Bull Racing team had left him feeling the pressure at points during the year.

But he insists that the experience, while not ideal, had nonetheless made him a stronger competitor as time went on, and he's confident that he'll now be a better driver than ever this year as a result.

"It was an up-and-down season, and when you find yourself in the middle group it's hard to be consistent," Kvyat told Autosport this week. "Mental adjustments are always tricky.

"I just had to forget about the final positions and just focus on driving. That was it. It proved to be a good, efficient way.

"From Monaco there were many more positive races and a much more positive understanding with the car.

"At the end of my rookie season there were no mistakes at all," he pointed out.

"But sometimes they happen. Every driver makes mistakes and obviously I had a crash in Japan and at Austin.

"It's just a quick flash in the pan and you're in the wall," he added. "You just move on. You can't think about it too much."

These lessons learned should put him in good stead for the new season, especially if he can pick up at the same level of performance that he finished on in 2015.

"I wouldn't say that it was perfect," he concluded. "But at least I could say I have a much better understanding of everything."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.