Written by Owen Bradley, Edited by Yu Xin Wang
Ex-F1 driver Daniil Kvyat will be testing in Berlin towards the end of April, with the NIO 333 team in Formula E.
Formula E has quickly and energetically become the leading electric racing series across the world, where a lot of notable former F1 drivers have often found themselves racing in. Those drivers have included the likes of Felipe Massa, Jean-Eric Vergne, Nelson Piquet Jr, Charles Pic, Karun Chandhok, Jerome D’Ambrosio, Jaime Alguersuari, Sebastien Buemi, Antonio Giovinazzi, Esteban Gutierrez, Brendon Hartley, Nick Heidfeld, Kamui Kobayashi, Takuma Sato, Felipe Nasr, Bruno Senna, Scott Speed, Nyck de Vries, Pascal Wehrlein, Stoffel Vandoorne, Jarno Trulli and even the 1997 F1 World Champion, Jacques Villeneuve.
Kvyat has always been a driver that has managed to adapt to different cars, such as driving the RB11 (Red Bull’s 2015 Car) designed by Adrian Newey, and the AT01 (AlphaTauri’s 2020 Car). Recently, he drove Prema Racing’s Number 63 car at the 1000 Miles of Sebring, and even managed to finish in second place with the rest of his team. In 2022, Kvyat even drove in NASCAR, which are cars that are far heavier and are literally called “stock cars”, so surely this proves that whatever you give Kvyat, he can handle it as long as it has wheels.
Kvyat’s ability should not be doubted, as he even beat F1 race winner, Daniel Ricciardo, in the championship back in 2015 when he first joined Red Bull Racing. Therefore, it is no surprise that Kvyat is forging an attempt to try and revitalise his career in single seaters, as he very clearly has got some talent, and can adapt to a range of different cars in exceptional fashion like most modern drivers can.
The only worry, which many fans of the 28-year-old Russian may have, is that he will be testing with the NIO 333 team, a team that has been outside the Top 10 in the Constructors’ Standings since the 2018/19 season. Thus, it might take something truly special from Kvyat if any of the Formula E paddock are to take a big interest in signing the F1 podium-sitter.
Kvyat has been known to the F1 community as “The Torpedo” since the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix, after colliding with veterans Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel. With Formula E taking place on street circuits where you have to maintain consistency and precision, it could be time to do away with the destructive nicknames that led to him having a shaky reputation during the F1 stint of his career.
Daniil Kvyat is one of the more underrated drivers of F1’s history, and there should definitely be a place for him in a well-respected paddock such as Formula E. We wish Kvyat the best for his test at the end of this month.
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