FUEL FOR FIRE
Lessons on track spark Hartley’s 2018 ambitions
Brendon Hartley is hoping the lessons of his first four Formula One races will set him up well for his first full season of racing in 2018.
He finished 15th at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, won by Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, yesterday.
The Kiwi driver, who was forced to retire from his last two races with engine issues, was locked into an enthralling battle for 13th to 15th place in the latter stages of the race at Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Kevin Magnussen (Haas) ended up holding his place in 13th ahead of Pascal Wehrlein (Sauber) and Hartley (Toro Rosso).
For Hartley, it was a solid climb up the field after starting the race 20th on the grid after yet another team grid penalty for exceeding the limit on engine changes.
But his finish, and team-mate Pierre Gasly’s 16th, was not enough for Toro Rosso to retain sixth spot in the constructors standings.
Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg came in sixth to ensure his team leaped ahead of Toro Rosso.
Hartley said it was tough to see his team lose a spot in the constructors’ championship.
‘‘It was always going to be an uphill struggle for us to hang on to that sixth place in the championship and it’s a real shame to lose it,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m obviously massively disappointed.’’
But he was pleased with his effort in the race.
‘‘I had a pretty clean race. I was in a train of cars – a Mclaren, a Haas, a Sauber, myself and Pierre behind.
‘‘It’s just very tricky to overtake here with these big downforce cars. It’s been a massive learning curve for me during these last few weeks and I’m well overdue a holiday. I’m looking forward to recovering, having some down time, preparing well for 2018 and coming back even stronger for my first full F1 season.’’
Hartley patiently worked his way up the field. When Gasly spun out in front of him, he moved into 16th before gaining another spot when Daniel Ricciardo was forced to retire with an hydraulic issue.
He was in his race-high 14th position when he pitted on the 27th lap.
On fresh tyres, he found better pace working his way from 19th to 16th as other pitted and then picked up his final spot when Carlos Saniz was forced to retire after his team failed to fit one of his tyres properly.
From there he put pressure on Wehrlein, but never managed to get past the German.
But it was the battle of the Mercedes drivers where the major action was happening.
Bottas held off numerous challenges from 2017 F1 champion Lewis Hamilton.
Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) came home third, which was good enough to retain second in the season standings over Bottas.
Hartley’s fastest lap was one minute 43.987 seconds, which ranked him 18th out of the 20 drivers. Team-mate Gasly set a 1min 43.844sec lap late in the race.
Bottas had the fastest lap (1:40.650).