Daniil Kvyat says he felt like he took "two steps forward" with his German Grand Prix performance despite failing to score points.

The Toro Rosso driver had a tough qualifying session, dropping out in Q1 and cutting a dejected figure as he admitted he had made a number of mistakes and felt his tough period was "never ending". However, after being visited by Red Bull team principal Christian Horner on the grid, Kvyat delivered a solid drive to finish 15th, directly behind team-mate Carlos Sainz.

Having moved forward in the race, Kvyat says the performance and feeling in the car was much more important than the final result.

"I felt that many people who know me saw I was not myself these last few weeks, also Christian," Kvyat said. "But I don’t need anyone to be sorry for me or anything but I think everyone has these points in life. For sure, [qualifying] was a low point. But already [in the race] I felt like I took not one but two steps forward."

Asked if he did anything between qualifying and the race to pick himself up after being so downbeat on Saturday, Kvyat replied: "Nothing special, just went to the car and did my job, really not thinking about too much or over-analysing.

"Just did my usual job, just drove on my instincts and it paid off quite well. I think that’s how we continue that approach for now, it’s been working good and it should be much better from the second half of the season."

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