321 replies to this topic

[potmotr]

That's a shame.

 

I hope Honda takes him under their wing if he is no longer in the Porsche stable.

 

I seem to remember a report saying he was still a Porsche-contracted driver.

[thermonuclear]

OK, so definitely not an amicable split with Red Bull then. 

 

Company not mentioned by name in Hartley's statement just now, and also this burn:

 

"I also want to thank my trainer Rich and almost all of the 500 strong Toro Rosso staff who I have stood beside and have enjoyed working with this season"

https://www.facebook...tleyMotorsport/

 

 

I dunno, the full quote didn't read too badly in terms of his opinions of Toro Rosso I thought.  Truth be told, the "almost all" comment probably referred to Gasly!  

[Nemo1965]

I always had the impression Toro Rosso and Honda took Hartley because his excellent feedback and his experience with hybrid engines. For me he was always sort of a development driver, doing better work because he was driving races. I never expected him to have a real chance to, say, go to The Big Sister team. A real topbloke, btw.

[ClubmanGT]

Wow, the Torro Rosso statement didn't even mention Hartley at all. 

[Bluflame]

I think New Zealand is extremely proud of what Brendon has achieved and how he’s conducted himself.
Potty’s season summary is probably how most of us have seen it but there remains a sense he still had a bit more to offer.

[Sardukar]

Kvyat is coming in because Red Bull and F1 together want a Russian driver on the grid. It's not rocket science.

[Henri Greuter]

Kvyat is coming in because Red Bull and F1 together want a Russian driver on the grid. It's not rocket science.

IF F1 wanted a Russian, then why not Sirotkin being assisted in getting another, better chance somewhere other than Williams? Or is his sponsor budget too small vompared with that of Kubica to be interesting enough?
I know his sponsors were no longer willing to throw in money in the bottomless pit called Williams Grand Prix Engineering but still.....

[potmotr]

Couple of onboards of Hartley's race on Sunday here:

 

1) Hits the back of Magnussen on Lap 1

 

2) Hits the barrier on Lap 4

 

https://youtu.be/Rw7NdPPjLIo?t=89

[SenorSjon]

That is just sloppy driving.

[potmotr]

That is just sloppy driving.

 

I think the first one is probably excusable as Magnussen almost stops in front of him

 

Second one is weird. He appears to turn in as normal then understeers off the road.

[Peat]

He locked the inside wheel, on an off camber corner, with a load of his front wing missing.

[FullOppositeLock]

He locked the inside wheel, on an off camber corner, with a load of his front wing missing.

 

"I ran in to some debris and damaged the front wing so I had to stop on the first lap"

 

Surely they replaced the front wing before his understeering moment on lap 4?

[Peat]

Ah, stopped under VSC.

 

Still, my first two points stand. 

[potmotr]

He locked the inside wheel, on an off camber corner, with a load of his front wing missing.

 

He had his wing replaced at the end of Lap 1 and hit the wall at the end of Lap 4. 

[potmotr]

Hartley remains a Porsche-contracted driver next year...

 

"It was also confirmed that ex-Toro Rosso racer Brendon Hartley will remain as a Porsche factory driver for 2019."

 

https://www.autospor...first-fe-driver

[kumo7]

I mean, Formula1 is not the factor which defines the prosperity of a racing driver.

OK, Formula1 has a lot of exposure on TV, but quite honestly, LeMans and NASCAR shows how difficult to drive a car to the win.

[potmotr]

Hartley is back home in New Zealand for the (Kiwi) summer and is doing the rounds in local media talking more about his dumping... and how he was quicker than Gasly by season's end!

 

"There was a little bit of anger at first, but that quickly turned to 'OK, so what are the next steps, what does the future looks like'.

"I'm certainly not looking for sympathy. It has been an incredible experience to fulfil my dream of becoming a Formula One driver. I've been very fortunate but I did have more to give.

"I had a really strong end to the season, consistently outperformed my team-mate and it felt like I deserved another shot. But Formula One is complicated, there are politics and money involved so it doesn't always work out like that.

"I'm trying to keep my foot in the door with Formula One but also looking at other projects as well. Nothing is fully confirmed yet but there are a few irons in the fire and I'm still confident things will work out."

"There is definitely a bit of hype [around Formula E] at the moment.

"It's not comparable to Formula One in terms of performance and speed, it's not on the same scale, but the racing is fantastic and it brings racing into the heart of cities, which is great.

"That's one of the potential options but I'm just biding my time ... I'm exploring all avenues and hopefully before the New Year I'll have a clearer picture of what 2019 looks like.

"I was planning to be home for a little less than a month but I did book a flexible fare in case I need jump on a plane earlier and get back for whatever."

"That was a real thrill to experience that. Even watching the on-board videos back sometimes, I was in disbelief how fast you really are going.

"It's hard to explain what it feels like to be sitting in a Formula One car, pulling your visor down and attacking that race track."

"Yea there's still that desire. Formula One is still the pinnacle.

"I'm still a super licence holder, I've just got a full season under my belt, I'm still well respected in the motorsport world and I didn't disgrace myself by any stretch.

"I'm happy with how I dealt with everything and how strongly I finished. You just never know when an opportunity can pop up and if it does, I'll be ready."

https://www.radionz....e-fire-for-2019

 

Video interview here: https://www.stuff.co...spite-his-axing

Edited by potmotr, 17 December 2018 - 17:50.

[potmotr]

Interesting from Hartley here, felt he was going to be turfed out from Monaco onwards...

 

https://www.theplaye...-formula-1-2019

[potmotr]

 

Who knows, he might end up reserve at RBR (if he can stomach it) or Ferrari.

 

 

*cough*

 

https://www.autospor...ferrari-f1-role

[thegamer23]

Happy for Brendon!!

He's still young, 29, and is pretty good in developing cars, other than driving them quick!

Who knows what chances might bring the future!   

Edited by thegamer23, 04 February 2019 - 13:32.

[Peat]

Interesting. I wonder if he'll show up as a Pro in a Ferrari customer GT for Le Mans or NAEC.

[potmotr]

Happy for Brendon!!

He's still young, 29, and is pretty good in developing cars, other than driving them quick!

Who knows what chances might bring the future!   

 

I'll be keen to see what else he fills his diary up with this year.

 

Interestingly he's dropped off the list of Porsche factory drivers, he was there until recently:

 

https://www.porsche....g/worksdrivers/