Hartley returns to familiar ground

Brendon Hartley will be able to draw on some favourable memories as he prepares for his second Formula One start at the Mexican Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Monday (NZ time).

The Palmerston North driver was at the track two months ago as part of the Six Hours of Mexico in the World Endurance Championship when he picked up a win alongside team-mates Earl Bamber and Timo Bernhard.

He was also on the top step of the podium at the track in 2016 in the WEC.

That experience will be a major boost for the 27-year-old as he fights for a F1 driving gig in 2018.

It gives him a leg up on Toro Rosso team-mate Pierre Gasley, who missed last weekend’s United States Grand Prix due to his Super Formula duties in Japan.

Gasley has just one more F1

race to his name than Hartley and has never raced on the Mexico City track.

Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez has some unique charms including running through the middle of the 50,000-capacity Foro Sol stadium, which is also used as a baseball stadium and concert venue.

However, the biggest test will be the track’s altitude.

The track is 2200m above sea level, 390m higher than South Africa’s Ellis Park used for Springboks-All matches.

Hartley said the altitude provides challenges for more than just the drivers. ‘‘It’s a tricky venue for the engineers, as the high altitude plays havoc on downforce and cooling, but from a driving point of view it’s a great track and one I really enjoy.’’

Hartley hoped to show improvement from his 13th-place finish at the United States Grand Prix.

‘‘It was a steep learning curve in Austin last week, so I’m looking forward to putting some of the lessons learnt into practice this weekend here in Mexico,’’ he said.

One change from Austin for Hartley will be the number on his car.

During his debut he was in car No 39, the number Toro Rosso assigned for reserve drivers. But with Hartley on board for the rest of the season, he was able to select his own number, 28.

Toro Rosso has not placed big expectations on the Kiwi aside Blacks test from continuing his improvement, having a clean run and setting some positive lap times.

But if Hartley wants to turn heads in the rest of the motorsport world, he will need to register his first F1 points, meaning a top 10 finish.

New Zealand has had success at the Mexican Grand Prix before when Denny Hulme won the race in 1969.

While the focus in New Zealand will be on Hartley, worldwide attention will be dominated by Lewis Hamilton. The British Mercedes driver is 66 points clear in the driver’s standings over Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

It means Hamilton needs just nine points over the final three races to lock up the 2017 title, even if Vettel wins all three.

So if Hamilton finishes fifth or better this weekend, he will be untouchable at the top.

Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas sits third in the driver’s standings.