Kvyat expecting backlash after Russian Grand Pirx clash with Vettel
Daniil Kvyat expects to be 'attacked' by the Formula 1 community for his first-lap clashes with Sebastian Vettel in the Russian Grand Prix, but insists it was "unavoidable"
A fortnight after Vettel rowed with his Red Bull successor Kvyat ahead of the Chinese GP podium following a first-corner incident, they came together again on lap one in Russia.
Kvyat ran into the back of Vettel's Ferrari both under braking for Turn 2 and again as they went into the fast Turn 3, sending the German into the barriers.
The stewards gave Kvyat a 10-second stop/go penalty for the collisions as well as three penalty points on his licence, which he put down to first locking his rear brakes and then being caught out by Vettel slowing mid-corner.
"I locked my rear wheels. I didn't brake much later to be honest," Kvyat said of the first impact.
"We touched with Sebastian once there. It wasn't a disaster there at Turn 2. The penalty came for Turn 3, I guess. I apologise for those.
"Turn 3 is a high-speed corner, you obviously expect to go fast there.
"When people brake in front of you unfortunately sometimes there is no time to react. That's what happened, I had no time to react to Seb's braking.
"I will speak with him about what happened. Maybe he already had a problem from what already happened in Turn 2 and he had to brake or something.
"When you are one metre behind a car at 150km/h and suddenly someone brakes, it's unavoidable.
"I got a 10-second stop and go for that - cool, but it doesn't help mine or his races.
"All the mess came from me. It's not great but sometimes these things happen from lap one. It's probably the not the nicest lap one in my career, I will learn from it and should be all fine next time.
"I think we have to speak [with Vettel] and that's all we can really do.
"Of course it's easy now to attack me and I guess everyone will but we'll deal with that."
RICCIARDO'S RACE WRECKED TOO
Kvyat's team-mate Daniel Ricciardo was caught up in the Turn 2 collision, sustaining damage that left him struggling to 11th place. Kvyat was 15th.
"I've just seen the car now and all the sidepod and floor is damaged," said Ricciardo.
"It cost us the race really. It's a shame."
Red Bull hoped Ricciardo could get to the end on a single set of mediums after the stop for repairs, but he had to give up and take softs mid-race.
"I don't think the tyre was working very well, but we had a lot of damage," he said.
"The car was sliding around a lot and it was hard.
"We put the soft tyre on at the end and that was giving me a little bit more, but lap one shaped the race for us."
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Vettel: Last Ferrari step back to winning F1 titles will be hardest
Revealed: What F1 teams really spent in 2017
Aftermath of Hamilton Baku clash Vettel's 'worst feeling' of 2017
Hamilton: Vettel an "amazing option" as Mercedes F1 replacement
Vettel still unsure about 2024 Le Mans debut after Porsche test
The contrasting fortunes of F1's big-name moves to Ferrari
Red Bull says it can't match "very lucrative" Audi F1 offer to Sainz
Mercedes F1 junior Pin joins the FRECA grid
Hamilton: Ferrari F1 switch doesn't need "vindicating"
Antonelli completes maiden Mercedes F1 test
How the F1 driver market situation sits for each team with 2025 openings
What's been going wrong for Leclerc in F1's tiny margins qualifying game
What the Chinese GP's highlights reveal about its first F1 race for five years
The secrets of F1 turbocharging explained
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments