Brendon Hartley

1. Who is Brendon Hartley?

Brendon Hartley is a New Zealand pilot, his date of birth is 10 November 1989. His birthplace is Palmerston North. He is currently a WEC driver for the Toyota Gazoo Racing team, after a stint in Formula 1 with Toro Rosso alongside French driver Pierre Gasly.

Brendon Hartley and Pierre Gasly at Toro Rosso in 2018 / © DPPI

Arrived at the end of the 2017 season at the United States Grand Prix where he made his debut on the grid. Not renewed by his team Toro Rosso at the end of the 2018 season, the driver turned to Formula E with GEOX Dragon and Endurance with Toyota and its Hypercar program for the rest of his career. His journey in Formula E ends after five races, two small points scored and a 23rd place in the final standings.

2. Brendon Hartley’s junior journey

Brendon Hartley started in motorsport at the age of 6, with his first races in karting in his country. He arrived in single-seaters at the age of 13. The driver began with domestic success, winning the New Zealand Formula Ford Festival. He continued his development in his country with two years in New Zealand Formula Toyota.

After a few years of learning at home, the driver arrived in Europe in 2006, to join the Formula Renault NEC championship. The following year, he joined the Red Bull Junior Team, with which he competed in two categories: the Italian championship and the Eurocup, which he won.

Brendon Hartley at Estoril during the 2007 Renault World Series season, he was then a member of the Red Bull Junior Team.

His progress continued in British Formula 3 with Carlin Motorsport, where he finished in third place thanks to five wins. He is starting again on a double program: Formula 3 Euro Series and World Series by Renault, for the Tech 1 Racing team. Two competitions where he, however, fails to shine.

3. Brendon Hartley’s WEC journey

Brendon Hartley begins Endurance in LM P2, at the 6 Hours of Spa 2012. Driving an Oreca 03 in the colors of the Murphy Prototypes team, he finished 10th. His big debut in the premier category, in LMP1 Endurance, came in 2014 with Porsche.

Brendon Hartley was at the start of the 3 Hours of Le Castellet in ELMS with Murphy Prototypes in 2013

The New Zealander then joined the Porsche fold to compete in the world championship. He teamed up with Mark Webber and Timo Bernhard in the LMP1 program. A first year of running-in and learning which allows him to perform the following season and add to his list of achievements.

FIA WEC world champion in LMP1 with Porsche in 2015

In 2015, the trio was crowned endurance world champion with the added bonus of second place at Le Mans. He will wait two more years to finally win the 24 Hours, at the wheel of a Porsche 919 Hybrid and accompanied by Timo Bernhard and Earl Bamber. After a short stint in F1, the Kiwi returns to the WEC in 2020, replacing Fernando Alonso at Toyota.

His rehabilitation is perfect, since he went on to achieve another victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and another at the 6 Hours of Fuji. The crew of the No. 8 Toyota will finish vice-world champion, five points behind the other Japanese car. Hartley is today part of the Toyota project which races in the Hypercar category in the World Endurance Championship.

Brendon Hartley in Endurance during the 2022 WEC season

4. Brendon Hartley’s Formula 1 journey

On October 22, 2017, Brendon Hartley started the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, with a Toro Rosso. He then owes his participation to the withdrawal of the Frenchman Pierre Gasly, who preferred to race the final round of Super Formula. He achieved a satisfactory 13th place, as well as becoming the first New Zealander to race in F1 since 1984 and Mike Thackwell.

First race in F1 at the 2017 United States Grand Prix with 13th place

Three days later, Helmut Marko confirmed him until the end of the season at Toro Rosso, in place of Daniil Kvyat. He will ultimately keep his seat at Toro Rosso until the end of 2018. His time in F1 will obviously not have lived up to his success in the WEC. He only scored four small points with three finishes at the bottom of the top 10. Results of which he suffered at the end of the 2019 season since he was not retained by Toro Rosso after the last Grand Prix of the 'year. He was announced as a development driver for Ferrari for the 2020 season, but did not compete in a single race with the Scuderia. The Red Bull page was turned for the driver, just like that of F1.

5. AUTOhebdo's opinion on Brendon Hartley

Brendon Hartley sailed before he found himself. Having completed numerous single-seater disciplines, the New Zealander has never really left his mark on these categories. His time in F1 was brief, the time for him to understand that he was not necessarily made for this sport. Turning to Endurance was a very good choice. It was in the Endurance World Championship that he became an accomplished driver.

From Porsche to Toyota, Brendon Hartley's results in Endurance are very decent. The former Red Bull driver thus becomes a three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (victory in LMP1 in 2017 with Porsche, LMP1 in 2020 and Hypercar in 2022 with Toyota) in addition to a world championship title with Porsche during the super 2018-2019 season. He also signs his first pole position at Le Mans in 2022. He has thus managed to make a name for himself alongside renowned drivers. At Toyota Gazoo Racing, he found a team where he could exploit his potential as a driver.

6. Learn more about Brendon Hartley

• 6H Bahrain – Brendon Hartley: “This weekend, it’s all-out attack”
• Brendon Hartley at Toyota?
• Toyota, once again without problems at Le Mans