Kvyat: 'I can be one of the best'

40

Daniil Kvyat says he believes he "can be one of the best" in F1 and has "a lot to give" to the sport as he awaits news about his future.

The Russian youngster was unceremoniously demoted from Red Bull to Toro Rosso after four races this season in order to make way for Max Verstappen. After a run of tough results, Kvyat's form has been picking up since the end of the European season and it appears a straight choice between himself and Pierre Gasly for the Toro Rosso seat alongside Carlos Sainz next year.

While still unsure of his future, Kvyat says he believes he can bounce back from this season's struggles to make his mark at the top of F1.

"We are always having some discussions, behind closed doors," Kvyat told GPUpdate. "There are options, but for my loyalty to Red Bull, we will first of all speak together with Red Bull, we will sit down, and then depending on how that conversation goes, we will see.

"I feel like I have a lot to give to Formula 1. I feel like I can be one of the best."

And Kvyat highlights the challenging time he had at Red Bull as something which will prove beneficial in the future, saying it is the past two years which have been difficult for him.

"If I'm getting over these things I feel it makes me extremely strong. Already last year it was not a very easy one, because Red Bull was going through a crisis.

"Expectation was extremely high for me, because I was replacing not just anyone, but a four-time World Champion [Sebastian Vettel] – they lost their by far number one driver.

"I had to again grow up. I had to make a massive step. It took me a few races, but then they were happy. It still never was easy, but I'm very happy that my career goes this way."

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: Suzuka

Scene at the 2016 Japanese Grand Prix

Japanese Grand Prix - Quotes of the week

DRIVER RATINGS: Japanese Grand Prix

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

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.