Daniil Kvyat has slated Red Bull for the 'betrayal' of his dropping from the team early in the 2016 Formula 1 campaign. The Russian driver had been teammate to Daniel Ricciardo in 2015 but after only four races of his second year with the team, Red Bull opted to switch out Kvyat for then-Toro Rosso driver Max Verstappen. Kvyat was dropped before the end of the 2017 season in favour of Pierre Gasly before returning in 2019 to fill a void at the Faenza-based team. Since his F1 career came to an end, Kvyat has enjoyed a cameo in NASCAR before signing up to a full season in the World Endurance Championship with Prema's LMP2 effort. The three-time F1 podium finisher has also been confirmed as a Lamborghini factory driver for the Italian outfit's LMDh programme from 2024.
'I felt really betrayed'
Whilst Kvyat has moved past the pain of leaving Red Bull he told the Track Limits podcast he had been in contact with Ferrari over the chance to replace Kimi Raikkonen before his demotion. Referring specifically to the Red Bull fallout, Kvyat explained: “I felt really betrayed at that moment. "It was a stab in the back and that’s life, you get stabbed in the back sometimes you know, it’s normal. “Now it’s the past. I have another good career in racing so part of me of course is very thankful to Red Bull. The other part of me is still very unhappy with it.”
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