Background and career
Daniil Vyacheslavovich Kvyat (Russian: Даниил Вячесла́вович Квят, IPA: [dənʲɪˈil vʲɪtɕɪˈslavəvʲɪtɕ ˈkvʲat]; born 26 April 1994) is a Russian racing driver who competes in Super GT for JLOC. Kvyat competed in Formula One from 2014 to 2020. Born in Ufa and raised in Moscow, Kvyat began competitive kart racing aged 10, before moving to Italy in 2007 to pursue a professional career. After winning several international karting titles, Kvyat progressed to junior formulae in 2010. He claimed 23 victories in Formula Renault 2.0, finishing runner-up to Stoffel Vandoorne in the Eurocup and winning the Alps Series, both in 2012 with Koiranen. He then won the GP3 Series in his rookie season with Arden. A member of the Red Bull Junior Team since 2010, Kvyat signed with Toro Rosso in 2014, making his Formula One debut at the Australian Grand Prix, finishing ninth to become the then-youngest points-scorer in Formula One history, aged 19. He was promoted to parent team Red Bull in 2015, achieving his maiden podium finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix and outscoring teammate Daniel Ricciardo. Having retained his seat at Red Bull for 2016 and achieving another podium in China, Kvyat was replaced by Max Verstappen following a controversial collision with Sebastian Vettel at the Russian Grand Prix. He remained at Toro Rosso for his 2017 campaign before being released at the end of the season, becoming a reserve driver for Ferrari. He returned to Toro Rosso—later renamed to AlphaTauri—in 2019 to partner Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly, taking his third career podium at the rain-affected German Grand Prix. Kvyat was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda at the conclusion of the 2020 season, departing as the most successful Russian driver in Formula One history; he achieved three podiums and one fastest lap across six seasons. After serving as a reserve driver for Alpine in 2021, Kvyat was set to compete in the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship for G-Drive prior to their withdrawal following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Kvyat returned to WEC the next season with Prema, competing under an Italian licence. He then signed for Lamborghini in 2024, competing in the premier Hypercar class alongside Mirko Bortolotti and Edoardo Mortara. The team moved to the IMSA SportsCar Championship for 2025.
Daniil Kvyat was born in Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia, on 26 April 1994 to Vyacheslav and Zulfiya Kvyat. Kvyat lived in Ufa until 2000 when his family moved to Moscow. This is where he first raced go-karts before first moving to Western Europe and racing competitively. Kvyat resides in Monaco. In addition to his native Russian, he is also fluent in Italian, Spanish, and English, and has some ability in speaking Finnish and Dutch. Rules introduced for the 2014 Formula One World Championship allowed the drivers to pick their own racing numbers that they will carry with them for the rest of their careers. When asked about which number he wanted, Kvyat revealed that 26 was the number he had chosen as he had no previous connection to it, and that he wanted to make it successful. Kvyat's hobbies include table tennis, football, wakeboarding and skiing. He also likes heavy metal music, and has cited Metallica's "Whiskey in the Jar" cover and Motörhead's "Ace of Spades" as his two favourite songs. He plays the guitar. Until November 2015, Kvyat was one of the few drivers in motor racing to have an FIA Super Licence, but not a regular driving licence in his native Russia. In January 2017, Kvyat began dating Kelly Piquet, daughter of three-time F1 World Champion Nelson Piquet. The couple's first child, a daughter, was born in July 2019. The pair split in December 2019.
In January 2005, Kvyat made his professional debut in motorsports winning his first race in Sochi. During the 2005 and 2006 seasons, Kvyat participated in local events, including the Russian karting championship and cup as well as in the occasional races in Italy. Consistently demonstrating strong performances, he later moved to Italy to fully concentrate on racing in one of the most competitive environments. Kvyat's first professional team in Italy was Franco Pellegrini's crew. During the winter of 2007, Kvyat's family moved to Italy to support his commitment demonstrated by his strong results. The young driver's parents stayed with him alternately, and he started education in Italian school, continuing to race in local tournaments. Before the start of the 2008 season, Kvyat, who had already proved himself in the Italian karting scene, signed a contract with the Zanardi factory team, led by well-known manager Dino Chiesa. Kvyat moved to the KF3 junior category and became a participant of the prestigious World Series Karting series. However, the Russian driver and Zanardi's partnership did not result in any success. He achieved European Championship qualification but Kvyat switched teams just before the championships started, to join privateers from Morsicani Racing, who used an FA Kart chassis. In their first race, the new partnership produced an excellent result: Kvyat, who had tested the new kart of the new team just a couple of days before the start of the championship, not only made it to the finals but was fighting for the win. Kvyat and Morsicani Racing won several prestigious competitions, including WSK rounds and the Bridgestone Cup. The Russian defeated his Zanardi ex-teammate, Nyck de Vries, who was now a protégé of the McLaren Formula 1 team. Kvyat also won the Trofeo delle Industrie, in the final heat of which Kvyat finished ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi and Raffaele Marciello, future members of the Ferrari Academy. Kvyat's European winning streak continued at the beginning of the 2009 season. The Morsicani Racing driver won the prestigious Winter Cup in the KF3 category and then added more victories to his name in the WSK rounds in Sarno and Le-Castellet. His victory in the Winter Cup was especially outstanding because he made it to the top of the podium after starting from the last position on the grid, where Kvyat found himself as a result of a clutch failure in qualifying. Kvyat first made his way into the final heat and then, starting from third, he won that race, overtaking Carlos Sainz Jr. along the way. Kvyat became one of the leaders in the WSK series, and began to draw the attention of sponsors. In the spring, he got backing from the Russian Lukoil company. However, the young driver was also noticed by Red Bull. During the summer, Kvyat participated in his first testing session in an open-wheel car, arranged by Red Bull alongside Carlos Sainz Jr, another candidate for the Red Bull Junior Team. Both drivers made a strong impression and signed contracts with the Austrian company. Kvyat continued to race successfully in karting, taking the bronze at the 2009 European Championship one more time but was unable to reach the finals of the World Cup in Sarno. During the qualifying session slot, chosen for Kvyat by the team, it started to rain and his lap time was not fast enough in comparison with the times posted by drivers on the dry track. Improving his situation during the qualifying heats was barely possible, primarily because the team had decided to place their bets on their second driver, Italian Guliano Maria Niceta. Kvyat decided to part ways with Angelo Morsicani's team after the World Cup and joined the Intrepid factory team. He raced for Intrepid in the last two races of the WSK season, winning the final one. It was the last win of his career in karting as the Red Bull Junior Team bosses decided to progress Kvyat to the next level, straight into the cockpit of the Formula BMW car for the 2010 season.
Before the start of the European season, Kvyat travelled to Malaysia with the Eurointernational team, which prepared cars for both the Red Bull juniors, to race in the Formula BMW Asian Championship, where he won his first race. However, his first races back in Europe were not very successful. Sainz, who had more tests under the belt before his debut in open-wheelers, was the first to deliver a result. However, by mid-season, Kvyat had improved his results. In Germany, he qualified in the front row for the first time and after that he finished every race in the points, including the final round in Monza, where he finished in second place, making it to the podium for the first time during his debut European season. Two weeks later, Kvyat won a race in the Asian Championships in Singapore, a positive ending to his campaign in Formula BMW. The Bavarian company had earlier announced the closing of their open-wheel programme by the end of the 2010 season, so Kvyat could not continue to compete in the series.
Before the start of the 2011 season in Europe, Kvyat went for a pre-season boot camp in New Zealand to race in the Toyota Racing Series. He raced in four rounds for the Victory Motor Racing team, finishing fifth in the championship with a win in the Dan Higgins Trophy at Manfeild and another five podiums.
After two races with Koiranen Bros. Motorsport in 2010, in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 finale at Barcelona and a fourth-place finish in the Formula Renault UK Winter Series, Kvyat, and his Formula BMW and Red Bull Junior teammate Carlos Sainz Jr., joined Koiranen for full 2011 seasons in both the Eurocup and the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup. He finished as runner-up behind Sainz in the Northern European Cup standings with seven wins, including a hat-trick of wins at Monza. In the Eurocup he was outpaced by former Formula BMW rival Robin Frijns and Sainz, scoring two wins at Spa and the Nürburgring. For 2012, Kvyat remained in the Formula Renault category, competing in both Formula Renault 2.0 Alps and the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 series. His debut in the Alps championship was marked with a dominating double win at Monza. In May he returned to the Eurocup, and recorded a double win in the opening round of the season at Motorland Aragón. In the Eurocup, Kvyat's main rival was Stoffel Vandoorne, who won four races versus Kvyat's six but he also never finished a single race below fourth. Kvyat lost points at Nürburgring due to a wrong tyre choice by his team, and at Hungaroring after crashing with Oliver Rowland. The fate of the title was decided in the last round of the championship in Barcelona. Koiranen GP made a wrong call in the mixed conditions and selected wet tyres for Kvyat although the circuit was drying up after the rain; most of the other drivers on the grid started on slick tires. Thus, having lost several positions in the last part of the race, Kvyat did not score enough points to secure the title. In the Alps series, Kvyat was fighting Norman Nato. Barcelona hosted the series finale just a couple of hours after the finish of the Eurocup race. Two title contenders crashed out and, having more overall points in the championship, Kvyat won the title. Russian driver remained with the Red Bull Junior Team and progressed to the GP3 Series for 2013.
