Tost ‘convinced’ Kvyat will return to form

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In the round-up: Toro Rosso Team Principal Franz Tost says that he is ‘convinced’ that Daniil Kvyat will bounce back from his form slump and wants the Russian to race for the team next season.

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After the death of American sprint car racer and Indy 500 driver Bryan Clauson following an accident in Kansas on Saturday, @eurobrun pays tribute.

RIP Bryan Clauson who died in a horrific crash during a USAC short track event while defending his title at the Belleville Nationals.

Whilst many may only know him from his three Indy 500 attempts that didn’t yield much success, he was one of those old school guys who would race anything and everything. He had set himself a target of competing in 200 races during 2016 and this weekend was the 116th on that list. He’ll be greatly missed by the motor racing community.
@eurobrun

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Will Wood
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43 comments on “Tost ‘convinced’ Kvyat will return to form”

  1. Of course I have no clue about Alonso’s state of mind, but I would feel the pain of not winning another championship knowing fully well that I have the capability of doing so.
    But looking at the over all picture, F1 drivers are living an extraordinary dream – earning a lot of money, travelling all around the world, staying in the best of hotels, having some of the most beautiful women as companions and need I say driving the fastest cars on the planet. So without the championships, they have lived a good life which billions of people can only dream about.
    “But my career path also could have ended in karting! So everything is perfect for me. ” – FA
    So championships is not everything.

    1. Just about every driver has the capability of doing so…. Alonso isnt special in this instance.

    2. Talking about F1 drivers and their lifestyle, I wonder why Seb was attending a bike race while his team mate was tying the knot. Are both men no longer in good terms?

      1. petebaldwin (@)
        9th August 2016, 11:16

        I have a good working relationship with the people I work with but I certainly wouldn’t want to go to most of their weddings!

        1. Fudge Kobayashi (@)
          9th August 2016, 13:39

          What Pete said.

    3. I’m getting a conflicting message though, he said:
      “Probably success is the most important thing of the enjoyment of being here – you are here to compete. Being on the podium, winning a race or even a championship: these are the moments of ultimate enjoyment.”

      Didn’t he leave Ferrari because they couldn’t get higher than podiums and race wins?

      1. Yeah. I also got the feeling he did not come across as completely unconcerned about not winning more championships. That is why I stated above that I would rather be disappointed if I were the one.
        Alonso like every sportsperson is very driven and I should add that race car drivers seem to be more emotional than other sports men/women and over the years we have seen them react in many ways that we have shaped our sport conversations. Maybe it’s a special kind of adrenaline.
        So it is with a pinch of salt I take Alonso’s statement. And as you said, “Didn’t he leave Ferrari because they couldn’t get higher than podiums and race wins?”

      2. @strontium Alonso’s reasonning that he left Ferrari because “podiums weren’t enough”, subsequently followed by recent comments like “you can only win in a Mercedes or at McLaren” don’t really fly.

        He might have thought that Ferrari would never get to the top step, but the real reason he left is because he was forced out of Ferrari. As Montezemelo was forced out and Marchionne came in, the team was completely reshuffled. Alonso, who’s motivation was waning anyway, was told to leave.. with Vettel the favoured lead driver. That then forced him to the best viable alternative available at the time, which was McLaren.

        The fact that McLaren has been at the back of the pack, due to Honda, is just poor timing for him. I’m sure he’d dearly love to add a third title. Dont think its going to happen, unless McLaren pull out something special for 2017.

        1. @tomcat173 No chance for Mclaren to beat the Merc’s or the RB’s. At best Mclaren can beat the Ferrari’s. Its not how much money you put into it, its the hamsters that run the team make you win. McLaren needs Brawn or someone of his caliber to beat the top teams. Until then Alonso can only dream of a 3rd WDC.

        2. I’m not convinced it was just a one-way street and that Ferrari forced FA out. I think it was more mutual than that. FA was getting frustrated for sure, and at the same time Ferrari needed to shake things up. I just don’t think an armchair observer can make the claim that it was strictly Ferrari ousting FA. If that was a fact, I would think that would have become common knowledge amongst F1 insiders and media by now, and we wouldn’t be still talking about whether FA or SV made the right decisions with their respective moves, as per this site only a month or so ago doing an article on that very topic. If FA had been ousted there would never have been any debate as to whether HE made the right decision, never have been a need for FA to answer to questions about that to the effect that Ferrari still hasn’t won a WDC so indeed he made the right choice by his own account. If it wasn’t FA’s decision why ask him continually if he made the right decision?

  2. Grosjean might think NASCAR’s approach to track limits is good, but look at Sonoma: the amount of tarmac run off is almost non-existent compared to those huuuuuge parking lots next to the track seen in F1 circuits. Same with Watkins Glen: they abuse the limits of the track at turn 1, but they are naturally limited because the run up to the bus stop is essential for a good laptime so they can go completely off the track, because they lose momentum.

    Everywhere else the tracks are tightly defined by the white lines and more often than not grass or gravel on the outside. They don’t need to worry about track limits because they just don’t have the same problem F1 has.

    1. @fer-no65 Yeah, it’s also very obvious it you follow both the WTSCC and the Blancpain. Both have GT3 cars racing and in one track limits is a regular issue whilst over the pond it isn’t due to tracks very often still having that little dirt or grass rather than a mile of run off.

      1. Gerulf Dösinger (@)
        9th August 2016, 11:00

        @xtwl While in Blanpain tracklimits may be abused at times the Stewarts in this series are rigorous in punishing this behaviour. Every time they deem something off-limits (possible advantage) they are very quick to react and give the car/drivers a penalty within no-time. The recent Spa 24h-race was the best example of how to monitor track-limit abuse thoroughly.

        1. @wildrover84 Blancpain is an example of good control and good policing of it, whilst WTSCC is a good example of track doing that itself by grass/gravel. F1 has neither of them though.

          1. Gerulf Dösinger (@)
            9th August 2016, 14:10

            @xtwl I fully agree!

          2. @xtwl Exactly!

            F1 has safe parking lot run offs, and 0 regulation on track limits right now.

            Ideally we would have tracks without runoff.

    2. Please guys, can you explain why is there so less runoff in those American series?

  3. Apparently it’s really really really hard to make a good tyre for F1. If you know how please contact Pirelli because they still seem to be in the dark.

    1. @hohum haha I had a chuckle.

      You’d think that Pirelli are now right in the middle of the tyre development process. They pushed Bernie fairly heavily to have proper testing, so they could develop decent tyres for the 2017 season. Now the list of possible excuses for problems is shortening… and its going to come down to capability in their organisation, making the right decisions around construction, compounds etc.

      1. @tomcat173 I don’t mind defending Pirelli on this. I think we all generally understand that Pirelli can make any tire they’re asked to. Until 2017 they have been mandated to make thermally degrady tires. Now they will make bigger tires that degrade through tread wear instead. I think it is completely within Pirelli’s rights to ask for essential proper testing. After all, if they’re not given the means to test these tires under ‘real world’ conditions as soon as possible it could negatively affect the racing…merely from lack of testing and time, not lack of ability. They need to have their tires on a proper 2017 car, in hot weather conditions, as soon in 2017 as possible. F1 should be going to all lengths to see that happen by stepping in with money if that is what is holding back a team or teams from helping in that regard. It is absolutely crucial and should be a no-brainer. Why would F1 shoot itself in the foot this way? Restricted testing for the teams in order to save money is understandable…doing so for the very one tire supplier is ridiculous. So much rides on these tires, pardon the pun.

        1. @robbie “Until 2017 they have been mandated to make thermally degrady tires.”

          Not totally correct.

          Pirelli were only ever asked to come up with a tyre that forced drivers to stop 2-3 times a race, They were never & have never been told what to actually do to achieve that. The decision to go with a thermal degredation model & the way they played around with the compound construction to achieve that was a decision that came purely from Pirelli.

          There are other ways of achieving increased wear & some of those are actually far better options but there just things Pirelli decided not to do primarily because the thermal deg route is the easier & cheaper of all the options.

          1. @gt-racer Fair comment. It is a shame then that they weren’t asked to correct that before now, but therein lies the problem with the direction F1 took, and hopefully will now sway away from.

            Your last paragraph really enforces to me the need for a tire competition in F1 (I refuse to use the terminology ‘tire war’ as it is no more a war than any other aspect of competition in F1 that doesn’t get called a war). A single maker, left to do it their way, can result in a terrible product on the track. Imho tire competition in the past is not what created processions, and after all, we have those now. It is the dirty air effect. So I do wish they would bring in another tire maker to compete against Pirelli to help ensure a better product not subject to one maker doing it the easy, cheap way.

          2. @robbie The FIA are reluctant to allow tyre competition as they see a sole supplier as a nice way of controlling performance & obviously cost’s.

            When Michelin entered in 2001 initial testing of 2001 spec tyres saw a 2 second performance gain for the tyres alone which led to the FIA raising the front wings to try & slow them a bit. When Bridgestone entered in 1997 the performance increased was about the same & the development race between the 2 (Or more) suppliers always leads to big drops in lap time via the increase in grip from the tyres.

            In terms of current times I also gather that Pirelli have made it clear they have no interest in been in an F1 with tyre competition & at the same time Michelin have also made it clear that they would want to be involved in a tyre competition because they want to be pushing the limits & coming up with new technology & feel been in competition with other suppliers creates the best atmosphere for that.

          3. @gt-racer Agreed and well summed up. I also recall Michelin saying that they wanted competition within F1 so that people would talk about tires. So if the tires are reasonable and allow themselves, the drivers, and the cars to be pushed, tires do not act as the ‘decider’ in races like they do today. If they are not the decider, and there is only one maker, everyone is on the same non-factor tires, and the tires get little mention, hence little marketing impact for being in F1. Throw in a competitor, and even if the tires aren’t the decider the commentators and we fans will be constantly mentioning tires wrt which team/driver is on which.

            So I personally believe that a big reason Pirelli agreed to be a sole supplier is because they got to make their tires the deciding factor in everything to do with the races these days. It will be very interesting to see what happens going forward on more stable tires that we presume will be less ‘flaky’ shall we say. If the new chapter is to put more of the emphasis on the drivers driving more beastly cars more closely on more robust tires, will tires be much less the topic of every track day, and will they see a resultant decline in marketing impact for being in F1? What flies in the face of that is F1’s desire to still have at least 2 pit stops per race, but that doesn’t necessarily mean tires have to be so temperamental as they have been though anyway.

    2. Solution is very simple indeed – 16” or 17” wheel rims – but that’s in conflict with Bernie’s taste.

  4. Echoing the sentiments of @eurobrun with the COTD. Everything I hear from several people in different racing series who knew him all said the same thing. Bryan Clauson was a great old school racer and also a really nice guy constantly giving his time to help promote all types of racing. My heart and prayers go out to his family and friends.

    1. Racerdude7730
      9th August 2016, 3:17

      He was an amazing guy and a all around nice guy. He could drive anything. If any of you wanna see some of his highlights just look up his USAC races. It’s amazing stuff. He was a true racer and raced for the love of it. He said as long as I can win 20 races a year I can be a happy man to race and not need a real job. He worked on his own cars with the crew when he wasn’t in the car and was just a normal guy with abnormal skills. You guys may only have seen him for his Indy and nascar starts but his real love was dirt. He will be missed in the would of American sprintcar racing. RIP BC

      1. Racerdude7730
        9th August 2016, 3:19

        World of*

  5. Someone managed to thaw Kimi’s heart! Joyous news

    1. It’s not his first marriage, hopefully there’s not another “Ice Age”.

    2. Finnish hearts are being thawed this summer as Bottas will also get married.

  6. The fact that I cannot see the Jenson Button video on this site, but I can only on Youtube is still very telling on FOM their stance on social media,…

  7. Kvyat must beat Sainz now. Sainz’s seat is secure. Kvyat needs performance vs Sainz to keep his seat. I don’t see any alternative to Toro Rosso now. Renault have Ocon.Gasly is very near to taking Kvyat’s place. It would be a huge shame if Kvyat’s career ends this year.

    1. We all suffer setbacks, and setbacks are part and parcel of the professional sports world. While being transferred back to Toro Rosso is, in many ways, a setback, it still is an F1 team that pays their drivers. Sure, Toro Rosso isn’t as prestigious as Red Bull, but it is still an F1 team, Kvyat is still driving a car that meets the 107% rule, and is expected to race at all the remaining circuits this year.
      Essentially there are 3 options for next year: 1) Racing with TR; 2) Racing with another team; 3) Racing in another series. All of these options require Kvyat to wake up each morning with the “I want to win” attitude.

  8. WilliamB (@william-brierty)
    9th August 2016, 11:01

    I actually think Kvyat is a case for change in the Red Bull doctrine. We have seen so much promise from him in such a short space of time, whether it be regular Q3 appearances in the unfancied STR9 in 2014, or an attacking final stint at Spa last year to earn P4, or an opportune podium and an aggressive opening lap in Shanghai this year. Previously, any dip in form for Red Bull drivers has always meant curtains because of the awesome array of talent waiting in line, but currently, probably reflecting the awesome array of talent Red Bull already have, the only man that could take Kvyat’s place is Pierre Gasly.

    Gasly may well win this year’s GP2 title, and has shown simply awesome raw pace on occasion, but it hasn’t been a smooth ride. This is his third season of higher powered formula racing, and whilst he has always had the raw pace, mistakes and tyre struggles saw him fail to win a race until Silverstone this year. Helmut Marko tends not to like slow learners. Perhaps it is better then to nurture the obvious abilities Kvyat has and take a view on his future once his performances begin to stabilize.

    1. Thing is, kvyats chance at the big team has come and gone, so at best he will hold a seat for torro rosso until they find the next best thing.

      I respect Tost for the public support, things must be dark in the mental world of the Russian at this point. This might help.

    2. I’m surprised by Tost’s apparently unmoveable faith in Kvyat – remember, he said when Ricciardo was promoted that he loves the Aussie, he’s awesome, but Kvyat is even better. Well, Kvyat was thoroughly thumped by Ricciardo – in performance terms, that is; I’ve never seen points paiting a less representative picture of an intra-team battle than in the Ricciardo-Kvyat battle – but Tost still trusts him. Why?

      He can surely look behind the headline points picture as well, so he must know Kvyat was way off Ricciardo at Red Bull. Logically, he must think Kvyat is performing well below his abilities, not only nowadays, but he has been doing so ever since he got promoted in the first place.

      I also saw Kvyat beating the regular Toro Rosso driver on his very first FP1 appearance in Austin in 2013, I think it was – say ‘different programmes’ and I say list me the drivers who did what Kvyat did at first try, no matter how the programmes were; all the other FP1 first-timers struggled initially recently. So he must be good.

      It should a heck of a job rediscovering that speed – and also the flashes of brilliance others mentioned here – with or without the help of Tost. And if they succeed that would rank among the greatest career saves ever…

      1. Evil Homer (@)
        10th August 2016, 14:22

        @atticus-2
        Yes but didn’t Tost say just last year that Max and Sainz are both better that Daniel and Seb?
        His comments cant be trusted and he just says what suits him and the team at the time.
        Another was “Daniel needs one more year with us before going to Red Bull”, this was before he signed to RBR, just wanted to keep him. As said, he just needs points from him before they cut him loose. Someone will take him.

        1. @evilhomer Not a bad point, actually.

    3. Exactly. Kvyat is the best talent waiting in the wings of Red Bull… if they had Verstappen and Seinz waiting in GP3, they would make room for them… but their GP3, GP2 drivers are nowhere near F1 level yet. Kvyat shows more form than that and is … what 22 and in obvious psychological difficulty. He should get help and sort it. Grosjean did so after his downturn and established himself well.

      Kvyat probably has no way to find himself in Red Bull again, but all midfield teams should be happy with him, and if he improves? Well then depending on size of that improvement…

  9. Could Tost say anything different? Yes, he could have kept quiet, but other than that there is no way he would trash Kvyat publicly: they need him to score until the end of the year.
    Bourdais said that Tost did not tell him he was fired: he just texted him!

    I’m very skeptikal of what TR or RB say about Kvyat: they’ll dump him at the end of the year anyway but they don’t him to completely collapse mentally.

  10. I’m not going to feel too sorry for Kvyat. Even if his career does prematurely bust because of the Red Bull method of driver development he’s still had an incredible life where he got to race in F1, and will likely still have a racing career ahead of him. It’s a shame if he does wash out as I do think he probably has the talent up there with say Bottas or Perez but it’s hard to have too much sympathy for someone who relatively speaking has still thus far had an exceptional life and still has a life many of us can only dream of ahead of him.

    And for all the criticism of Red Bulls methodology and the potential lost talent they’ve cast aside, it’s hard to fault their methods when 3 of the 5 best drivers are products of their program. They aren’t interested in producing another Perez, or even another Button. They want the next Schumacher or Fangio.

    1. So true @philipgb.
      RB are facing an incredible problem: they only have two cars, but have three very talented drivers under contract. At some point, they’ll lose one who will strengthen the opposition. And Kvyat will have plenty of time to watch Game of Thrones.

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