F1 | Toro Rosso, Hartley: “I feel good, I have to defend myself and fight for my cause”

Brendon Hartley appears to have reached the end of his brief adventure in Formula 1. The WEC world champion and winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been under pressure ever since he joined Toro Rosso at the end of last season, but soon after the first races of 2018 he was put on trial by the media and beyond, who wanted him out of Formula 1 for not even half the championship. The New Zealander has been getting good results lately, but it might not be enough as Alexander Albon seems one step away from signing as Kvyat's teammate for 2018.

“I understood that I have to defend myself and fight for my cause – Hartley said. I know I've done a great job in these last two races and I feel really good. There have been some races where the first lap didn't go well due to contacts that damaged the car. It's true that on certain occasions there were very narrow margins in qualifying and this made the difference in some races. But there were occasions, like Austria where I was in the points but was forced to retire due to suspension failure. In Hungary, however, I qualified in the top ten, but we diversified our strategies and after the pit stop I was overtaken in an attempt to overcut. On that occasion Pierre had a better first lap (he finished in sixth position, ed.). Now I'm here, I feel very comfortable in this environment and I'm doing a good job. I focused on my performance despite everything, and I know I'm doing something positive."