Yesterday, it was announced when Daniil Kvyat heads to Sochi for his home Grand Prix, F1’s only Russian driver will race in front of fans seated in the ‘Daniil Kvyat Stand.’
Next month, Formula 1 will visit Kyvat’s home country for the first time with the Sochi Autodrom playing host to the inaugural Russian Grand Prix. The new 5.853km track features 18 corners of which Turn 4 has a grandstand named after the Toro Rosso rookie.
In an interview with the media yesterday, Kvyat was amazed to learn the news that there is a grandstand named after him in Sochi. Kvyat stated the following:-
‘I was amazed to learn there will be a grandstand bearing my name at the Sochi Autodrom. Usually, this is an honour reserved for drivers who have retired, so it is both surprising and a great privilege.
‘I am very excited to race in Russia when I will finally get to perform in front of my home crowd, so that makes it a very important weekend. I’m sure feeling all that extra support will be a big boost when I’m on track. It’s definitely a historic moment and I hope everyone will enjoy the grand prix.’
As Kvyat says, it is a great honour for him to have s grandstand named after him in Sochi and it will have been something he didn’t expect but will be happy about the news. It is clear that Kvyat is looking forward to his home race and will want to do as well as he possibly can on a very important weekend for him and also for Russia too. And I am sure that the crowd will be supporting Kvyat and will want to encourage him to do well as possible.
As for his thoughts on the track layout, Kvyat further on in his interview says while it looks interesting, he won’t really know until he has driven it. Kvyat added the following:-
‘It is still a bit early to talk about the details and the track layout because I haven’t actually been there yet. It does look like an interesting track with its long straights and numerous corners and I can’t wait to get there and see everything for myself.’
I would have to agree with Kvyat here and it is too early to say how the Sochi track is and if it provides the challenge that they hope will bring to F1 and also to the teams and drivers. But the fact that Kvyat feels that it is interesting and also is looking forward to running on the circuit in front of his home crowd is encouraging.
But overall, the news that Kvyat has his own grandstand in Sochi may have shocked people but the end of the day the fact that he has his own grandstand shows already just how much of an impression he has made in his country and that they are proud of everything he has achieved so far in his career.
As Kvyat has stated yesterday, it is an honour and a privilege that he will take very seriously and will want next month to show his gratitude to his country by giving them a first Grand Prix to remember and most importantly, a good performance for them to cheer about too.
