F1: Marko Offers Solidarity to Hartley

Last weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix was a drab affair as the race saw hardly any overtakes on track and the grid remained largely unchanged throughout. But it was conspicuous by the most fiery crash in this F1 season.

Brendon Hartley and Lance Stroll came together in the first lap itself, with the New Zealander airborne for a while before landing back on track. Stroll lost his rear at Turn 5 which left Hartley with no room and they came together, ending both their races.

Hartley could be forgiven for thinking his time in F1 was over, especially with rumours floating around of Toro Rosso looking for a replacement. But Red Bull boss, Dr. Helmut Marko has provided some encouragement for Hartley.

He said, “It was, I would say, a racing incident and has nothing to do about his future. He will be in the car.” When asked about the rumours, Marko dismissed it as ‘unbelievable stories going around’.

Hartley may not have had a strong start to the season but he responded well in Canada. He finished Q3 in 8 position but could not get out of Q2, ending up in 12 place eventually. It was comparatively great as teammate Gasly failed to even make it out of Q3.

When asked about his thoughts, Hartley was gutted considering Toro Rosso’s pace through the weekend. “I’m really disappointed for Toro Rosso and Honda, because we’ve been quite strong all weekend.”

“We had a good update from the power unit. I think we definitely had the pace to challenge for points”, he added.

He defended his attempt to pass, insisting that it was a viable move. “I had a good start but I got left a bit on the outside of Turn 2 which lost me a position. I got a good run on Lance out of Turn 4 on the outside, but he lost the car which put us both in the wall.”

“It is very disappointing as there was room to make the overtake and I was looking forward to a strong race. It was frustrating as I’ve been really happy with my performance all weekend.”