Vettel spat ‘a good episode’ for F1 - Kvyat

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Daniil Kvyat maintains he did nothing wrong at the start of the Chinese Grand Prix and believes his disagreement with Sebastian Vettel was “a good episode for Formula 1”.

Vettel accused Kvyat of taking too much risk attacking the inside line in to Turn 1 in Shanghai, with Vettel then reacting to the Red Bull and hitting team-mate Kimi Raikkonen. After the race, Vettel confronted Kvyat in the drivers’ room but the Russian stood firm that he had been simply racing hard.

Speaking to reporters at the Sanki Sliding Centre on Wednesday, Kvyat says his stance has not changed having seen the incident from numerous angles since.

“Even if I didn't want to see it this video was everywhere anyway, so I had to see it,” Kvyat said. “I did what any competitive driver would do and I am very competitive. Obviously it was interesting Turn 1, but on lap one generally in racing there can be many different situations and you have to be ready for any of those. Ferrari was less ready for it and they paid the price.

“You can see from the video that I braked much earlier than anyone on the grid - everyone went too hot in to Turn 1, which opens up the space on the inside and the outside has poor grip as well. There is good grip on the inside and I have to thank them for that - that is all I can say about the incident.

“I think we all have our points of view - all the three drivers involved and it was good to discuss it. Now it is history and now we are focused on the future races but I guess it was a good episode for Formula 1.”

Having stood his ground in the face of Vettel’s criticism before going on the podium, Kvyat says he understands why the German was so forceful at the time.

“I think obviously emotions after the race are high so it is good that even a four-time world champion can have them. It is good to speak it out.

“I don't know what he will say now but after the race it is pure emotions for everyone. It is normal. I have my point of view; he gave his point of view. I believe my point of view is right; I don't know what he believes at the moment. Me and him will always treat each other with all our respect and to be honest it is all okay. Honestly there are no problems at all and I would do it all over again.”

And asked if he would speak to Vettel again about the incident this weekend in Sochi, Kvyat replied: “No I don't see any need to doing that.

“If he feels so he will do it but for me it is all quite clear. If someone is not clear and they want to speak then I am always open for a talk. Absolutely.”

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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.