From a kid with a kart to the world’s biggest stage
Lining up on the starting grid of the United States Grand Prix marks the completion of a 21-year journey to the top for Kiwi Brendon Hartley.
The 27-year-old will complete his dream of racing in Formula One as he debuts with Toro Rosso on Monday morning (NZ time).
It was an opportunity that almost passed him by.
Hartley had been earmarked from an early age, but he when he was dumped by Red Bull back in 2010 it seemed he had reached the end of the road in F1.
Since then Hartley has become one of the stars of the endurance circuits.
Seven years on from him having to reassess his options, his dream of F1 is set to become a reality. But his journey started much earlier.
Hartley’s promising start on the race track began as a 6-year-old in go-karting in Palmerston North. He was quick to rise up the ranks and started in Formula Ford at 13.
His potential and ability to keep control no matter the speed turned heads right through his career. One of those to take note was Kiwi motorsport legend Kenny Smith who became Hartley’s mentor in his early years.
‘‘The kid’s good, no question. In fact, he’s the best 14-year-old I’ve ever seen racing,’’ Smith said in 2003.
Along the way Hartley had plenty of challenges at a local level.
His friendly rivalry with Wanganui’s Earl Bamber, now a two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans champion, started during their karting days.
And by the time Hartley got to Formula Ford, he raced alongside fellow Palmerston North Boys’ High School driver Chris Pither, a fulltime V8 Supercar driver in 2016, who impressed with his contribution to a fourth-place finish at Bathurst earlier this month.
In 2005, Hartley, Pither and Smith were all part of the inaugural Toyota Racing Series. Hartley, the youngest on the grid, won three races and ended up fourth in the series.
But it was later in the year that the biggest news came his way.
In October 2005 he was signed to the Red Bull Junior Team at 16-years-old.
With that came intensive training from a group that ran two F1 teams. During his time with Red Bull he raced in different classes including Formula 3 and Formula Renault 2.0.
In 2007 he won the Formula Renault Eurocar as his stocks in the motorsport industry continued to rise. By 2008 he was test driving for F1 and became a reserve for Red Bulls’ stars Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel.
But after so much promise, things took a turn in 2010 when Red Bull cut him.
It was a moment Hartley would later describe as a blessing in disguise as it led to him discovering endurance racing.
‘‘I made the choice to try endurance racing back in 2012,’’ he told Stuff in 2015. ’’I took my helmet to a test and met with every team in the pit lane. I fell in love with it. From that moment, I knew I wanted to be a factory driver.’’
That desire became reality in late 2013 when Porsche signed him for its 2014 World Endurance Championship campaign.
With Webber and Timo Bernhard by his side, Hartley graduated from promising young driver to sought-after star.
He played a key role in the trio’s WEC win in 2015, a moment he described as a career highlight.
‘‘I don’t think it gets much better than this. I could not be happier than where I am,’’ he said after the win.
By 2017 he was joined at Porsche by Bamber. The duo, along with Bernhard, claim the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans title in June.
With Porsche’s announcement they were withdrawing from the WEC from next year to focus on Formula E, Hartley’s future is once again uncertain.
His chance to prove himself on the biggest stage of the motorsport industry will ensure all doors remain open.