Kvyat feeling confident after return to F1 with Toro Rosso

Daniil Kvyat was back in a Formula One car at the Abu Dhabi post-season test and the Russian says he felt right at home. Kvyat was replaced at Toro Rosso by Brendon Hartley after his mentality was questioned by the senior Red Bull team.

He will return to the team he first raced with back in 2014 for next season, a long journey back to an F1 seat after a period as Ferrari development driver.

After his first run back in the car, the Toro Rosso driver said he felt comfortable immediately.

“I think today was a very positive and good day as we covered 155 laps, which is about three Grands Prix in one day.

“To be honest, I felt comfortable and confident straight away in the car which was great.

“What’s important about today was we were able to test a good amount of tyres for next year, gathering a lot of useful information and data for the team.

“I’m feeling really comfortable here and it’s great to be back, I’m really looking forward to next year.”

Kvyat's fastest time of the day was a 1:38.862s, a time that put him eighth in the times. 

Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost added that he was happy with Kvyat's work and was looking forward to 2019 with the Russian partnered up with Anglo-Thai driver Alexander Albon.

“We were all more than happy to see Daniil back in Toro Rosso for the second day of testing, and he was able to immediately show a good performance.

“We’re already looking forward to the next season, Daniil and Alex are very competitive drivers and we can’t wait to see them on track.”