Brendon Hartley to Get the Axe?

Toro Rosso driver Brendon Hartley, is on the verge of leaving his team, reports suggest. The driver who hails from New Zealand has been in speculation of getting the thumbs down on his career in Toro Rosso. Bild newspaper, reported that prior to the Mexican GP, Hartley had a sit down with driver development programmer Dr Helmut Marko and Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

This sit down has delayed and eventual announcement about Hartley’s position in the team. RaceFans confirmed that Helmut Marko, has decided to review the decision and wait on it to see Hartley’s performance in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Despite all the talks Hartley said that he had put up a string of decent performances in the recent races, and had made his claim stronger on his position.

“I feel like I have gotten stronger through the season. I showed it in Austin even if the press release said there was something wrong with the other car”, said Brendon Hartley. Hartley finished 14th in the Mexican GP, as he was awarded a penalty for tangling up with Esteban Ocon, and also ended up with a damaged floor.

“I flatted-spotted on lap one which was a big part of making the day pretty tough for us,” said Brendon Hartley. “I effectively did a one-stop strategy completing one extra pit stop for nothing because it was on lap one. We definitely had the pace to be in the points today,” continued Hartley. “But the flat spot on lap one was very costly.Without the contact within Ocon and the damaged floor I think potentially the place on Marcus [Ericsson] was possible because we had fresher tyres and I was putting a lot of pressure”, he added.

It remains to be seen if Hartley retains his position in the Toro Rosso team, amidst speculations of getting the thumbs down.