Kvyat's drop in performance leaves Helmut Marko perplexed

Helmut Marko said he did not understand the drop in level of Daniil Kvyat, who had nevertheless been integrated into Red Bull Racing in 2015.

Published on 28/12/2017 à 15:38

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Kvyat's drop in performance leaves Helmut Marko perplexed

Between the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix and the end of his involvement with Toro Rosso on the evening of the 2017 United States Grand Prix, Daniil Kvyat will not have been able to demonstrate to the management of Red Bull good reasons to keep it within the Faenza structure.

After being demoted from Red Bull Racing to Toro Rosso in the spring of 2016, the Russian driver was mostly dominated by his teammate Carlos Sainz. Enough to precipitate the replacement of the former GP3 Series champion in Malaysia, before being recalled for a race in Austin.

The drop in performance displayed by Kvyat left the Red Bull clan perplexed, starting with Helmut Marko. « Unfortunately we don't know why [he broke under pressure] , proclaims the motorsport consultant of the Austrian brand on the F1 website.

Maybe that's why we couldn't find a solution. During his first year in F1, it was a revelation, and he was often faster than Ricciardo. That’s why we aligned him with Red Bull Racing.

But suddenly the curve began to reverse. This happens sometimes unfortunately. We gave him more than one chance, but he couldn't use his potential. This happens sometimes. »

All eyes on the duo gasly –Hartley

The modification of the lines within Toro Rosso during the season did not help Franz Tost's team according to Helmut Marko. Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley were thus aligned in the STR12 at the end of the season, starting from almost " White paper " as the winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1971.

« I think that given the circumstances, Pierre and Brendon were pretty good, however, admits Marko. And the good news is that Brendon no longer has to go from Porsche to F1 (after the withdrawal of the German brand from WEC, effective from Bahrain), so I am sure that for next season, Toro Rosso will be able to count on a very promising duo. »

The team will, however, have to deal with a real unknown: the Honda turbo/hybrid V6, a parameter that does not worry Helmut Marko, confident in Japanese potential.