Ten years ago, Daniil Kvyat was playing tornadoes in China against Sebastian Vettel

The scene remains etched in memory. At the start of the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix, Daniil Kvyat, starting from sixth place, made a blistering start and dived in such a way as to burst between the two Classic Ferrari for sale by Kimi Räikkönen and Sebastian Vettel — who started from second and fourth places — at the first braking point. The maneuver surprised car number 5, which had to swerve to avoid the Red Bull — and collides with his Finnish teammate in the process. Both Ferraris lose valuable time, Räikkönen is relegated to the back of the pack while Vettel slips to eighth. Kvyat, however, continues unscathed and manages to finish on the podium in third place, the second of his career after the 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix (2nd).

Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, climbed back to second place after an epic race, but was still fuming. In the cooldown room before the podium ceremony, he directly confronted the Russian: "You're asking what happened at the start? If I hadn't gone left, you would have hit us and all three of us would have gone off the road. [...] You came like a tornado. If I had stayed on my trajectory, we would have collided. But there was also a car on my left. We would have collided if I hadn't moved."

Daniil Kvyat, for his part, responds with disarming calm: "That's racing. [...] I couldn't see all the cars, I only have two eyes, for two cars. We didn't collide, so it's all good." A response that did not appease the German: "When you attack like that, you have to expect to damage a car. You got lucky this time. My car and Kimi's [Räikkönen's] were damaged. But none of these thoughts seem to affect the Red Bull driver, who concludes: "I'm on the podium and so are you, so everything's fine."

A brutal epilogue for Kvyat

Daniil Kvyat's season, however, took a dramatic turn just days after this incident. At the following Russian Grand Prix, the Russian driver collided with Vettel again—this time from behind, on the very first lap, in the third corner—sending the German into the wall and forcing him to retire. Two incidents in two races involving the same driver and the same victim: Red Bull management expected nothing more. Even before the Spanish Grand Prix, the decision was made: Kvyat was demoted. Toro Rosso — his podium finish in China is not enough to save him — and a certain Max Verstappen takes its place in the mother stable.

The Dutchman, then only 18 years old, seized the opportunity with disconcerting efficiency. In Barcelona, ​​he took advantage of the infamous double collision between the two drivers. Mercedes Benz Hamilton and Rosberg, who are fighting for the championship — from the first lap to take the lead and never relinquish it, thus winning his very first victory in Formula 1, in his very first race with Red Bull Racing. Meanwhile, Kvyat finishes sixth with Toro Rosso. Full circle.

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