Kvyat: ‘It was just a normal first-lap incident’
Daniil Kvyat refuses to believe that he was at fault for the first-lap accident between his Toro Rosso and the two McLaren’s during the Chinese Grand Prix.
The three drivers came together on the exit of Turn 6. Lando Norris had run wide onto the kerb on the exit in his McLaren, while his team-mate Carlos Sainz had been overtaken Kvyat’s Toro Rosso on the inside.
With cold tyres, Kvyat had oversteer which squeezed Sainz into Norris, who was returning to the track. If left both McLaren drivers with damage, including an airborne moment for Norris.
The stewards handed Kvyat a drive-through penalty for the accident, something which the Toro Rosso driver strongly contests.
“It was not definitely fair. I think there was no penalty at all, not even close to a drive through, so I disagree with that,” Kvyat said.
“We will discuss with steward behind closed doors. What happened there? I am curious, without doubt, I will prove my point of view to them.
“It was a very usual Lap 1 incident, just three cars in one corner. I left enough space to at least one of them, honestly, I fell I did everything right.”
Despite Kvyat pleading his innocence, Sainz suggested a lack of patience from the Russian was key to the incident.
“It’s one of those things, you have to be patient at the start, it’s a 56-lap race,” Sainz said.
“Even if you don’t get the best of starts, I didn’t get the best of starts for once.
“At the exit of Turn 6 is somewhere unlikely to go side by side and (Kvyat) created a bit of a melee.”
Sainz came home 14th, while both Kvyat and Norris retired with damage caused on Lap 1.