Hartley and his Toro Rosso F1 shot

PORSCHE WORLD ENDURANCE Championship star Brendon Hartley will make his Formula 1 debut at this weekend’s United States Grand Prix at Austin as part of Toro Rosso’s evaluation programme for its 2018 driver line-up.

Pierre Gasly is favourite to land one of those seats, having impressed the team when he stepped up and drove the car in the recent Malaysian and Japanese grands prix, but the identity of the second driver is less certain.

Carlos Sainz Jr’s early departure to Renault, combined with Gasly’s return to Super Formula for this weekend’s title showdown at Suzuka, presented Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost with an opportunity to run another driver in F1 machinery at Austin as a test for 2018.

Red Bull wanted to give Hartley a seat and lined up his WEC rival, Toyota’s former Toro Rosso racer Sebastien Buemi, as a back-up if a deal could not be done, given that the New Zealander is contracted to Porsche.

But after several discussions an agreement was reached, and 27-year-old Hartley will race the car in Austin alongside the returning Daniil Kvyat. The last time a team changed both drivers from one race to another was Lotus between the 1994 Portuguese and European grands prix, when Alex Zanardi and Eric Bernard replaced Johnny Herbert and Philippe Adams.

It is a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for Hartley, who was Red Bull’s official reserve driver in 2009 and ’10 before being dropped from the company’s junior programme in the middle of his ’10 Formula Renault 3.5 campaign.

Hartley, who is in contention to secure the 2017 WEC title as part of Porsche’s LMP1 team, told Autosport: “I will try to make the most of this opportunity. I don’t want to put too much expectation on it. It’s a dream for so many people and I’m finally getting to achieve it. It’s an incredible feeling. Six to seven years ago, I was not sure if I was ever going to make it onto the F1 grid. I’ve battled hard to get to where I am and taken every opportunity I could.

“I always had the dream in the back of my mind. It’s the same reason I called Helmut [Marko, Red Bull motorsport advisor] after this [Red Bull junior] programme was finishing. I was going through a tough time in my career and he knew that. I left home at 16 and had a lot of things to deal with at that time.

“I definitely feel that I’m a more well-rounded driver now. Mentally I’m much stronger. I don’t make nearly so many mistakes. I’m more prepared than ever as a racing driver. I have a lot more experience behind me.”

Hartley tested for Toro Rosso at the end of

2009, but hasn’t driven an F1 car since ’12, when he took part in a young-driver test at Magnycours for Mercedes. In preparation, and as part of the evaluation for Austin, Hartley has spent time in the Red Bull simulator.

“[The opportunity] came up at the last minute and quite out of the blue,” he said. “First I did a simulator test. I didn’t ask too many questions. They said ‘come along’ and I said ‘OK’. I didn’t know there was a chance to be on the grid for Austin. It has come about very quickly. I didn’t know too long before the media did, let’s say that.”

The United States Grand Prix will be Hartley’s third different car and series in three weekends. He won the IMSA Sportscar Championship-closing Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta in an Extreme Speed Motorsports Nissan Onroak Daytona Prototype international before heading to Japan and finishing fourth last weekend in the rain-shortened Fuji round of the WEC.

For the deal to go through, Hartley required Porsche to give its blessing. “I am super-thankful to Porsche for allowing me to do this,” he said. “They gave me a huge opportunity four years ago after I started endurance racing. This was a huge opportunity allowing me to be there and it has turned into another huge opportunity.”

Hartley is in the fortunate position that he has a chance to forge a career in F1 with the Red Bull family, but if that does not work out he has the opportunity to move to the US. It is believed that there is an arrangement with Chip Ganassi Racing for him to race in Indycar next season, either through the main team or via a loan deal with another squad.

But for now, Hartley downplayed his expectations and is refusing to look beyond Austin. “To be put in the situation last minute, I feel as ready as I can be,” he said. “I’ve been there [Circuit of the Americas] recently [Hartley won the 2017 WEC round with Earl Bamber and Timo Bernhard], which will obviously help, but it’s a very different car and a very different challenge. I’m not taking it lightly. Maybe there is [the chance of a full-time F1 drive in 2018] but I don’t want to look that far ahead. I just want to enjoy my experience on the grid and make the most of it.”

“I’m superthankful to Porsche for allowing this”