Daniil Kvyat's Reaction to Sebastian Vettel Incidents Shows Admirable Character

Daniil Kvyat got an earful from Sebastian Vettel at the end of last month's Chinese Grand Prix. The young Russian dove up the inside of Vettel's Ferrari at the first corner, spooking the four-time champion and causing him to swerve into his team-mate's car.

Kvyat stood his ground both on the race track, helping him claim Red Bull's first podium in seven months, and in the podium ceremony green room, when Vettel accused him of coming at him "like a torpedo," according to Reuters.

Kvyat was right and showed his mental strength in refusing to be cowed by Vettel. Planet F1's Michelle Foster went as far as to suggest it could be a career-defining moment for the then-21-year-old Russian. (He celebrated his 22nd birthday nine days later.)

On Sunday, at the Russian Grand Prix, it was a different story.

Kvyat slammed into Vettel as they braked for Turn 2 on the opening lap, and then again as Vettel appeared to slow in the middle of the long Turn 3. The second impact sent Vettel spinning into the wall and out of the race.

This time, the German did not wait until the end of the grand prix to voice his displeasure. "For [censored] sake," he said on the team radio. "Honestly? What the [censored] are we doing here?"

Just as when you drive into the back of someone on the freeway, this one was completely on Kvyat.

And as impressive as he had been standing up to Vettel in Shanghai, Kvyat was equally impressive in his reaction to the incident in Sochi.

"All the mess came from me," he told Rachel Brookes on Sky Sports' post-race show. "Of course, it doesn't feel great, but sometimes these things happen in Lap 1. It's probably the messiest Lap 1 that happened in my career...I apologize to everyone who was involved, and we will learn from it."

You could argue that Kvyat had no choice but to take responsibility, but his willingness to apologize still hints at a maturity beyond his 22 years. F1 drivers are not always so quick to say sorry, even when a crash is their fault—remember, for example, Nico Rosberg's stubbornness after wrecking Lewis Hamilton's Belgian Grand Prix in 2014?

The impact with Vettel also caused the Ferrari driver to slam into Kvyat's team-mate, Daniel Ricciardo, damaging his car, as well. And if that weren't bad enough, all of this happened at Kvyat's home race, in front of his family, friends and even the Russian president. Perhaps it was all those expectations and the extra excitement that caused him to wait an extra split-second before braking into Turn 2.

In addition to a 10-second stop-and-go penalty during the race, Kvyat received three penalty points on his Super Licence.

"It's easy now to attack me, and I guess everyone will, but I'm OK with that," Kvyat told Brookes.

That maturity will serve him well as he faces a battle potentially for his F1 future. Kvyat earned a promotion to Red Bull after just one season at Toro Rosso when Vettel surprisingly left for Ferrari following the 2014 season.

Paired with Ricciardo, who was fresh from a breakout, three-win season, Kvyat turned in consistently impressive performances and edged the more experienced Aussie 95 to 92 in the drivers' championship.

Now, it appears Toro Rosso's Max Verstappen might be in line for a promotion to the big team for 2017, meaning either Ricciardo or Kvyat would have to move on.

"Very good drivers have always spent a maximum of two years with Toro Rosso and then moved up," Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko recently told German magazine Auto Bild (h/t F1i.com). "And Verstappen is extremely good."

Even if he were to lose his seat at Red Bull, if Kvyat continues to impress with his on-track results and off-track demeanour, he would be desirable for other teams looking for experienced drivers. Russia is also a large market, and Kvyat's status as the only F1 driver from the country is promising for commercial reasons.

Kvyat has already shown he can compete at the top level of motorsport, and one relatively minor incident is not going to change that.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner stood by his driver, even after receiving a mid-race visit from Vettel.

"I am sure he was pumped up for his home race, but I just think it took him by surprise how quickly the cars stopped ahead of him," Horner said, per Autosport's Edd Straw and Dieter Rencken.

"He's young, and it's the first time he has been involved in an incident like this, and I'm sure he will learn from it."

SRDJAN SUKI/Getty Images

As Kvyat said on television, some people will no doubt jump on him for his mistakes, but if we were willing to praise him for his response in China, we should do the same for his apology in Russia.

When 22 drivers are aiming for the same piece of tarmac at 300 kph, mistakes will happen. Once the emotions of the race have cooled down, everyone understands that, and Kvyat's humility will ultimately earn him respect.

But don't mistake that humility for submission. As he showed in Shanghai, when he has an opportunity—even a small one—he will go for it.

"To get on the podium you have to take risks," he said in China, per the official F1 website. "It was an essential move for me, and it paid off. We can talk for hours about it but I am on the podium; if I didn't go for it, who knows where I would be. I will keep on risking like this, and everyone should expect that!"

Instead of bashing Kvyat for his error in Russia, we should celebrate his racing spirit, particularly on the weekend when we remember the death of Ayrton Senna, perhaps the greatest racer of all time.

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