The life of a Formula 1 driver is a high-pressure existence, and there can be no doubting that Daniil Kvyat is certainly feeling the pressure.
The Toro Rosso driver cut a forlorn figure on Saturday after failing to make it out of Q1 ahead of the German Grand Prix. After qualifying 19th, Kvyat will start the race from 18th following Romain Grosjean’s grid penalty, behind both Renaults and the Manor of Pascal Wehrlein. Kvyat’s team-mate, Carlos Sainz, qualified in 13th.
It was yet another frustrating day for the Russian who appeared exasperated when talking on the team radio after failing to qualify for Q2. “That was not enough?” he said. “Unbelievable. What the **** is going on?”
Speaking to the media after qualifying, it was hard to watch as the 22-year-old struggled to produce answers to questions relating to his troubles.
“I should be better than this,” he told Sky Sports. “I know it’s not my real self driving my car and it’s very painful. Some people are happy to see this for sure.”
Kvyat’s journey this season has been something of a rollercoaster ride. From a podium finish in China in April, he found himself demoted from Red Bull to Toro Rosso just two races later, and now three months on from his mid-season switch he is struggling to keep his head above water having scored just two points in the last seven races.
Recent reports have suggested that Kvyat’s contract will not be renewed at the end of the season, a move which would in all likelihood end his F1 career.
“It’s looking very bad now, and if it continues like this then I don’t think anything bright is ahead,” Kvyat told Autosport of his future.
“I just need to get things going, and once I do that, then it will be fine.
“It’s not like I’m having the most pleasant time in the world, it’s not easy, but it’s not an excuse.
“Everyone has hard times. If you’re good, you come out of it, if you’re not good enough, you just die.”
Following this weekend’s race in German, F1 will head into its annual summer break, and while Kvyat has made no secret of his need for time to clear his head, he conceded that it might not be enough to turn his fortunes around.
“I don’t know what I need,” he said.
“I just need a feeling with the car. I don’t have it at the moment.
“When it comes back it should be much better. I can’t remember the last time I had a good feeling with any car, so I don’t know what’s going on.
“It seems like my window of working is very narrow. I need to work on expanding on it, but it’s not easy.”
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