Brendon Hartley revealed he quizzed fellow Antipodean racing drivers for tips ahead of his surprise Formula One debut this weekend.
The New Zealander asked his former Porsche WEC team mate and multiple grand prix winner Mark Webber for his advice as well as that of the only Australian racing in F1 at the moment.
“All the friends I have in the sport I’ve been asking for a bit of advice,” said Hartley in today’s FIA press conference.
“Some of it’s going to come down to driving free practice one, seeing how I go and then asking some of those questions. A lot of them aren’t relevant until I’ve experienced the car.”
Hartley said there’s “been no expectations set” for his first race weekend or what it might lead to.
“To be honest some of the team members I’m just meeting for the first time today and yesterday during the seat fit. So nothing’s really been said.”
“Obviously I want to do the best that I can. I’m trying not to put too many expectations on it. In some ways I’m under-prepared, I want to do the best I can, but going forward nothing’s been said yet.”
Hartley will drive alongside Daniil Kvyat this weekend who along with Pierre Gasly is one of three options the team have for their 2018 driver line-up. Hartley is a free agent due to Porsche’s withdrawal from WEC.
“Nothing’s been confirmed for me for next year,” said Hartley. “I haven’t asked too many questions, I’ve been focusing on doing the best I can this weekend.”
“I’ve got a far amount on my plate to figure out and do a good job. I’m trying not to think further forward. I was looking at IndyCar and still am, nothing’s confirmed for next season yet.”
Aldoid
19th October 2017, 18:31
The proverbial toss into the deep end… he’ll need to be at least as quick as Kvyat, & much less erratic if he wants further consideration. Puts him in a bit of a tough spot: the midfield is very tight & chock full of what I consider erratic drivers, at least occasionally. It’ll bode well for him to stay out of trouble, but he can’t exactly hang around either. We’ll soon get an idea of his pace in practice & I suspect that once the lights go out, it won’t take us long to see how his racecraft stacks up. Sector 1 should be pretty crazy in these new cars though. Looking forward to that.
BasCB (@bascb)
19th October 2017, 18:38
At least he knows the track well
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
19th October 2017, 18:42
Yes, I’m looking forward to watching the race. I hope his neck muscles are strong enough otherwise it will be a very difficult race.
juan fanger (@juan-fanger)
19th October 2017, 22:43
I don’t think Hartley needs to be quicker than Kvyat in his first outing, as the Russian driver is actually quite fast and often qualifies very well. But if the Kiwi can get close to him in qualifying and then, as you said, stay out of trouble in the race and maybe move up a place or two then he should be deemed a success.
And if he goes very well then Australia will claim him as one of their own :)
GeeMac (@geemac)
20th October 2017, 11:55
“Occasionally erratic” sounds a bit like being “slightly pregnant”. :)
Aldoid
20th October 2017, 14:39
Lol!
Willie (@willienjg)
19th October 2017, 19:47
WEBBER: Mooy advoice mate would be to steea well away frum that blady rashan bloke kyvat!
You blady Sheila!!
eljueta (@eljueta)
20th October 2017, 6:17
That was a pretty cool phonetic Webbuh impersonation :D
Ashwin (@redbullf1)
20th October 2017, 14:57
+1 nice one
BigJoe
19th October 2017, 20:08
Interesting that he goes to europe at a young age where he spends most of his adult career with european teams and team mates, makes it to the top, then goes to number 2 Aussies drivers for advice ;)
FlatSix3.6 (@kegguts)
20th October 2017, 0:24
Mark – ex-team mate
Dan – good friend
Why the hell not.
bogaaaa (@nosehair)
20th October 2017, 5:22
@willienjg
Brendon loves ewe Willie!!!
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
20th October 2017, 10:32
My prediction he will beat Kvyat in quali, probably not in the race. And he will drive more F1 next year if he manages a half decent performance.
Kvyat has a toxic demeanour and would benefit from a sports psychologist.
Martijn (@)
20th October 2017, 11:16
Go get ’em. All the best of luck for Brendon!
Basically
22nd October 2017, 21:22
A general comment: I thought you were unbiased, Keith. I thought you were factual, Keith. I thought you were good, Keith. I was wrong, wrong, and wrong.
I used to believe in what I read here. I guess I’ll move on.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
23rd October 2017, 10:43
I have no idea what you’re referring to.