In 2006 at the age of 16, Brendon Hartley headed to Europe to become a Red Bull Junior driver with the aim of getting into Formula One. By 2010, that dream was shattered and he turned to endurance racing. In 2015 he finished second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and became a World Endurance Champion along with Porsche team mates Mark Webber and Timo Bernhard. So was he always destined to become an endurance rather than an F1 driver?
I caught up with Hartley on the eve of the FIA WEC 6 Hours of Fuji race in Japan and spoke with him about that F1 dream, endurance racing, Porsche and now driving for Toyota GAZOO Racing.
Now in 2019, he is a double World Endurance Champion, a 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, an ex Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula One driver and currently driving for Toyota GAZOO Racing LMP1 in the FIA WEC, both a simulator and reserve driver for Scuderia Ferrari F1 and a GEOX Dragon Racing Formula E driver. Not bad for a boy from Palmerston North with both talent and a dream.
You see, we all have a dream of getting to the top. We all start the journey and eventually find our niche in life. Most of us, when we first found our motorsport passion in life, have wanted to get to the top. All but a few of us have found our place on this journey whether it is competing internationally, nationally or at a club level, running or working in a team, becoming an administrator, a flag marshal, even being involved in media, or becoming an arm-chair critic. It is no different to all those who have kicked a rugby ball around the back yard. Few ever go on to become All Blacks. Most of us get a kick out of watching those that do get there.
Take for example Tony Quinn, owner of both Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell and Hampton Downs in the north Waikato, and the day an American called Eddie Cheever shattered his dream of becoming a professional racing driver.
In his book Zero to 60, he talks about competing in Formula Ford and finishing on the podium a number of times. Then one day Eddie Cheever turned up to the track he never new, in a ‘shit’ car and blitzed the field. Cheever went on to compete in 132 F1 Grand Prix and later won the 1998 Indianapolis 500.
Quinn says in his book, ‘Watching Eddie drive made me realise that, no matter how good I thought I was in my own home town, I was witnessing a real talent and just what it takes to be the best……Eddie made me reconsider my ambitions to race cars for a living. I knew I couldn’t afford to waste time and money on motor racing because I was never going to make a living from it.’ Well Quinn may not have become a professional driver but he certainly has made an enormous contribution to NZ motorsport in many other ways.
Born in November 1989, Hartley started racing in kartsport at the age of six. After a season in Formula First, he followed his brother Nelson’s footsteps, and competed in the 2003/04 NZ Formula Ford championship finishing runner up to Tim Edgell.
At the age of 15, Hartley competed in the inaugural Toyota Racing Series season winning the opening race at Timaru International Raceway and going on to finish third overall.
Straight after the 2005/06 TRS season he was off to Europe to fulfill his dream of making it into Formula One, to get to the top as a Red Bull Junior driver. But by 2010 his F1 dream seemed to be all over.
“In 2010 I lost my drive with Red Bull and hopes of an F1 career faded. I had to work really hard to come back from that.”
As we know now, being dropped by Red Bull isn’t necessarily the end of the world or though it must have felt that way for Hartley. Certainly his single seater options from then on were limited and he turned to endurance racing.
“I turned up to an LMP2 test with my helmet and a bit of money.”
Next eventuated was a drive with Murphy Prototypes (Oreca 03)in the 2012 and 2013 European Le Mans Series. This included two drives in the 2012 and 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans with a DNF and 12th overall (6th in LMP2 class) in 2013 .
He also drove in the Rolex Sports Car Series for Starworks Motorsport in the Daytona Prototype category in 2013, completing all but one round in the series due to a clash for the final round of the 2013 European Le Mans Series. Let’s not forget that at the same time, 2012-13, Hartley was a simulator and test driver for the Mercedes Formula One team.
Meanwhile, in 2011, Porsche begun work on their 919 Hybrid Le Mans Prototype sports car, in preparation for the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship season.
“Every time I got in to the car I knew someone would be watching. At that time I was hoping to attract either Toyota or Porsche. I got in touch with Porsche and emailed them my CV and asked for them to keep an eye on me. It was one of the most sought after seats in Endurance racing.
“Unbeknown to me they had been watching. They invited me to a meeting and then a test and then to drive for them, all in the space of about eight months.”
In December 2013, Porsche named its final two drivers, Brendon Hartley and Marc Lieb who would join Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Mark Webber in a two car campaign the following year.
The rest is history. In 2014 Hartley, Webber and Bernhard finished ninth overall in the WEC but went on to win the 2015 title. Hartley repeated this feat in 2017 with Bernhard fellow Kiwi Earl Bamber. This trio also won the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans, the pinnacle of endurance racing.
Now in 2019 Hartley is again in competing in the FIA WEC, this time for previous rival Toyota GAZOO Racing, replacing Fernando Alonso.
“It’s funny to now be driving for Toyota, having competed against them for a number of years. It was a bit strange at first but now I feel right at home. It is 100% enjoyable.
“The cars are equally complicated and they (Toyota) have just as many engineers.
“The cars are very different (to the Porsche 919 Hybrid) but my experience has helped with adapting. There are lots of similarities which is great as I have only completed two tests before we begun the 2019/20 season.
“There is so much going on when driving these cars, particularly in traffic where you are constantly analysing the risk and reward. You are constantly overtaking cars at a huge speed so getting efficient at this is very important.”
So how does he reflect on his ‘brief’ Formula One career with Scuderia Toro Rosso? 2017 was quite a year for him, having won Le Mans and secured a second FIA WEC drivers title.
Porsche announced an abrupt end to their WEC program so Hartley was without a racing seat. However, after making a phone call to Dr Helmut Marko of Red Bull F1 Racing (the guy that dumped him back in 2010), he was to find himself making his F1 debut at the 2017 US Grand Prix replacing Pierre Gasly.
It was like the game of Musical Chairs – Gasly had made his F1 debut at the Malaysian Grand Prix, replacing Daniil Kvyat (who had been let-go by Red Bull). Gasly was expected to take Carlos Sainz Jr’s seat at the US Grand Prix but it clashed with the the final round of the Super Formula Series in Japan (only for it to be rained off). Sainz, who was off to Renault F1 for the 2018 season, found himself in a Renault for the 2017 USGP replacing Jolyon Palmer.
Later in October 2017, Hartley was confirmed to continue with Toro Rosso for the remainder of the year and then secured a full season with them in 2018.
“It (F1) was all very surreal, not expected. Helmut (Marko) was effectively making all the decisions and the timing was right.
“I was out of contract with the Porsche LMP1 team and it all fell into place at the end of 2017. It was a dream come true as I was suddenly on the grid at Austin.
” I’ve got lots of happy memories and am very proud to make it and do a full season. I finished well and having had an F1 seat it is now on the CV and is very valuable. It was one of the busiest years of my life.”
Arguably his F1 days are not over as he is currently contracted to Scuderi Ferrari F1 as part of their simulator team.
“I do many days on the simulator for Ferrari, often the Thursday and Friday of a race weekend testing tweaks they have put on the car on Sat qualifying. Testing new items for the future, development for the future and preparing setups for the race.”
We run out of time to talk about his Formula E program with GEOX Dragon Racing, but he did tell me they they are a very ambitious team that may surprise a few people.
Will we remember Hartley as an F1 or an endurance driver? I think the latter. An endurance driver that also made it to F1. Arguably he was always destined to be one and he has been successful at it with two world driver titles and success at the ultimate race at Le Mans.
Hartley is currently one of the best, otherwise he would not be with Toyota GAZOO Racing. He could well win another WEC title as well as a second win at Le Mans and it looks like he may be racing in the WEC for some time yet.
“The future is exciting as it looks as though we will see other manufacturers coming on board, but at the moment my focus is on doing the best job.”
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