JULY 24, 2015

Best therapy for mourning drivers is racing says Kvyat

At the end of a tragic week full of moving tributes to the late Jules Bianchi, the F1 grid is now keen to get back up to full speed.

At the end of a tragic week full of moving tributes to the late Jules Bianchi, the F1 grid is now keen to get back up to full speed.

Many drivers, including Daniil Kvyat, travelled to Hungary straight from Nice, where on Tuesday their former rival and colleague Bianchi's funeral was held.

But Russian Kvyat doubted his fellow drivers would have difficulty getting back into their cockpits this weekend.

"It seems to me in such a situation that the best thing is to go racing again as soon as possible," he is quoted by Russia's Championat, "because the last days have been very difficult.

"For drivers I think the best therapy is racing as it allows us to escape, but it is clear that we will never forget what happened. Jules will always be with us," Kvyat, 21, added.

Also affected by the Bianchi tragedy was Williams' Valtteri Bottas, but like Kvyat he is also keen to go racing again.

"For me the best place is inside the car with the visor down," he is quoted by Finland's Turun Sanomat.

"Then my thoughts are on driving and nothing else."

Marc Surer, a former F1 driver turned pundit for German television Sky, agrees that the views of Kvyat and Bottas are mirrored up and down the pitlane.

"I come from a time when, unfortunately, there was often deaths," he said. "But you can put it aside very quickly once you are in the car and focused on the job."

(GMM)