Charge through the field gives Kvyat hope

Daniil Kvyat fights his way through the field in Bahrain

Daniil Kvyat predicts an exciting season for Red Bull Racing after his dramatic race in Bahrain saw him home seventh.

After another disastrous qualifying session saw him eliminated in Q2, the Russian battled through the field to come home with valuable points, despite picking up front wing damage early on in the race.

Team-mate Daniel Ricciardo also suffered damage at the first corner when he clipped Valtteri Bottas’ Williams, but came home in fourth.

For Kvyat, racing through the field and mixing it with some of the front runners gave him a big boost in confidence for the rest of the season.

Daniel Ricciardo ahead of Kimi Raikkonen

“I am very pleased with the race,” he said. “It was quite difficult in the beginning but I would say the race went very well considering where we started from.

“We had good pace and a good result which I am very happy with. The strategy worked well and the team managed to avoid traffic on the track, when we saw an opportunity we went for it and it made the race good fun.

“We found a nice rhythm during the race. It was also good to see we were challenging the front runners, at the right tracks I think this will be interesting.

“It was a really good wheel to wheel race which I think is good for TV and I’m really happy to have been involved in that action. I leave here with the glass half full.”

Daniel Ricciardo heads Lewis Hamilton in the early stages in Bahrain

Ricciardo, despite the damage, had something of a lonely race by comparison. After battling it out with the Williams pair and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen before the first stops, the Australian settled into a good pace but couldn’t catch the front three.

He said: “The race start was interesting. I didn’t get off the line very well and I could see it was getting a bit chaotic into Turn 1. I tried to capitalise on it but ended up with damage on the front wing when Bottas and I came together.

“There was a moment that I thought I would have to pit for a new wing as the chunk that came off looked pretty substantial but we were able to hang in there for a few laps, racing with the Williams. The damage didn’t affect me too much and we had a good race, although a little lonely towards the end, with some decent points scored.”