ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 12: Sergio Guardiola of Adelaide United celebrates after the winning goal was scored by Mark Ochieng of Adelaide United during the round 15 A-League match between Adelaide United and Melbourne City FC at Coopers Stadium on January 12, 2017 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Morne de Klerk/Getty Images)

Daniil Kvyat spent his birthday in his home country on Wednesday as he prepared for his home grand prix this coming weekend. Circumstances for the young Russian driver have changed a lot since he was here last year. When he took part in the 2016 event, he was racing for Red Bull, but then, after spearing into Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari not once, but twice, forcing Vettel into retirement.

This followed on from a similar incident between the two in the race prior, and as a result it ended up being his last race for Red Bull Racing and he was demoted to the junior team, Toro Rosso, where he remains today.

Speaking to the media ahead of this year's race, Danii discussed his performances over the past 12 months and how this year's car is measuring up….

Daniil, welcome and happy birthday for yesterday. It is of course a home race for you but that means an awful lot of commitments. Were you able to even enjoy your birthday?
Yeah, I was. Obviously you have to expect that you have a bit more things to do at your home race. I think it's a privilege for any driver to have a home race and it's a privilege for me. Of course I was in Moscow a few days earlier for a few events and here also yesterday was quite a busy working day for me to be honest, but it was still enjoyable, I was surrounded by nice people and it was all quite nice. I learned how to do curling, so now another sport on top.

This is the fourth year of the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi? How do you feel the popularity of the event has grown during that time?
You know, to be honest I think that since year one there has been quite full grandstands, so it's been quite good already. Not too much to add since the first year, so it's a point to maintain this. We will see this year but I am expecting to see quite a lot of people here on Sunday and the weather is nice so everyone should enjoy. Hopefully the race is going to be interesting and that's it really. I am pleased to see this.

Let's talk about your on track performances: you scored points in Australia, but you haven't had much luck since then. How do you assess your season so far?
First of all, it was already a privilege to finish the race in Australia, for me. It was a good start but for me it was more important to know that we have the pace to do good results. As you said, China and Bahrain were a bit not our kind of weekends. More important for us to know that we have a package to do things well. The team is operating extremely well this year from the operational side of the things – very professional, especially considering how tight the midfield is, every little thing makes a difference for us. It's actually quite interesting. Very interesting every qualifying session. You are putting yourself at the limit and the same in the races. It's very interesting to be there.

Tell us a little bit more about this year's car. What are its strengths and weaknesses?
Our car in particular, I would say, is quite universal. It's been a similar kind of performance in every track so far – Australia, China, Bahrain, it's always similar, fighting for points, Q3s. Like I said before, you have to put everything well together and the difference between the fourth best team and the seventh best team is very, very narrow.

Based on the latest information from the FIA, it appears as though the cockpit Shield has received the nod for 2018 over the Halo. What do you think about the Shield and which one would you prefer the Shield or the Halo?
I think it's enough for now the way Formula One should look should remain the same. I think we have enough protection so far. Of course if there are good ideas they should be considered but so far I am quite against it to be honest, both of those options.

If Max Verstappen strikes somebody off the start, will Dr Marko replace him by you?
It's a question for Dr Marko, not for me.

Do you feel the pressure of racing in front of your home stands and what is a decent result here in Sochi for you?
I'm racing now fourth year here at home. It's always been a busy week off the track but to be honest on the track starting on Friday it's been like any other weekend from that point of view – you go out in FP1, you start working on the car set-up with the tools you've got. Same position in FP2, FP3 and then you've got qualifying and then you've got the race. Nothing has really changed for me in those three days of sporting work. It's important to just focus on your own job and try to do your best.

We have seen this year some difficulty to take the tyres to the temperature of the window and here's a circuit where you have very low tyre wear. Can it be an issue here? And, for Valtteri, can it be an advantage considering you fight with Ferrari which keeps more the tyres but has some difficulty to reach the temperature of the tyres?
I think, you know, obviously Pirelli has changed a bit their approach from the last few years to this year, obviously with the big regulation change. So, it's perhaps slightly more conservative with their compounds but at the same time here of course they're bringing their softest compounds. In the past this track historically has been very interesting on the tyres. It's quite different, standing out, and every year we have to understand how to make it work in the correct way. So I think this weekend also will be interesting, but obviously having ultrasoft here as a qualifying compound should be a bit more helpful – but we have to find out only on Friday.

Obviously a lot has changed since last year here in Sochi for you. Could you tell us a little bit about your past year. Must have been difficult, maybe, sometimes for you?
How would you guess! I would say in the end it seems like just some pleasures in my memory to be honest. Now the situation is quite different and it seems like every time I get out on track with the car it all feels quite comfortable, it all feels quite under control. And, as I said, every race is an opportunity for us to do well and that's how it feels. Sometimes this feeling was very inconsistent, of course, last year, which I guess is normal – but now it seems like it's back to me. And yeah, the confidence with the car is good, the pace is there and I think we're only on race four out of 20 so it all looks encouraging for me, so prefer to look ahead rather than behind.

Happy belated birthday. What is the most memorable gift you got yesterday?
Thanks! We had a book presentation yesterday about my junior career so it was very nice. A very nice gift. I hope it will be interesting for the young guys from Russia to read. This was actually the idea of showing a bit the curtains from inside the house: how it works, the traditional way to Formula One – but there is not a single word about my Formula One career, of course. Also a game, backgammon, from my father was a very nice gift. So yeah… I can't think of anything else.