There was no sign of rust for Daniil Kvyat as the Toro Rosso driver explained he felt “confident straight away” on his Formula 1 return in Abu Dhabi.
Kvyat is preparing for his third stint with Toro Rosso, having raced for the team in his rookie campaign in 2014, and again from early/mid-2016 through late 2017.
Kvyat was axed by Toro Rosso after the 2017 United States Grand Prix and Wednesday’s test day marked his first on-track appearance with the team since that event.
Kvyat spent 2018 as Ferrari’s development driver though his track time was limited to just one Pirelli tyre test early in the campaign.
The Russian racked up 155 laps in the Honda-powered STR13 on Wednesday at the Yas Marina Circuit, his best time of 1:38.862 putting him eighth of the 11 participants.
“I think today was a very positive and good day as we covered 155 laps, which is about three Grands Prix in one day,” he said.
“To be honest, I felt comfortable and confident straight away in the car which was great.
“What’s important about today was we were able to test a good amount of tyres for next year, gathering a lot of useful information and data for the team.
“I’m feeling really comfortable here and it’s great to be back, I’m really looking forward to next year.”
Kvyat will link up with rookie Alexander Albon at Toro Rosso, after the team confirmed on Monday that the Anglo-Thai will replace Brendon Hartley.
“We were all more than happy to see Daniil back in Toro Rosso for the second day of testing, and he was able to immediately show a good performance,” said team boss Franz Tost.
“We’re already looking forward to the next season, Daniil and Alex are very competitive drivers and we can’t wait to see them on track.”
Toro Rosso finished ninth in this year’s Constructors’ Championship.
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