Brendon Hartley


Brendon Hartley is a New Zealand professional racing driver who is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing and in the Formula E for GEOX Dragon.
He won the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship, alongside his teammates Mark Webber and Timo Bernhard, and also went on to win the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship alongside Bernhard and Earl Bamber. He won the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans with Bamber and Bernhard.
He formerly competed in Formula One for Scuderia Toro Rosso, making his debut at the 2017 United States Grand Prix. As of 2019, Hartley is a test and simulator driver for Scuderia Ferrari.

Career

Hartley was born in Palmerston North in a family well integrated within motorsport. His father, Bryan, had raced in many forms of motorsport, including Formula Atlantic. At the age of six, Hartley began his motor racing career in kart racing, following in his brother Nelson's footsteps. Six years later, he competed in his first full-scale race championship, competing in the Formula First category. Hartley finished the season in seventh. In 2003, he won that year's New Zealand Formula Ford Festival which resulted in him getting a drive for the following year's Formula Ford championship. In a car his brother had used the previous year, he started four races and won two of them.
After a season in Formula Toyota New Zealand, Hartley moved to Europe, competing in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup. He finished 14th and 10th in the Drivers' Championship in the Eurocup and North European Cup respectively, taking a podium position at Anderstorp in the latter. In his second year in Formula Renault, he stayed in the Eurocup, but moved from the NEC to the Italian championship. He took three wins in the Eurocup and three podiums in the Italian championship, and took the championship title in the Eurocup.
In 2007 Hartley also made his Formula Three debut in the Masters of Formula 3 at Zolder event, finishing 4th. This resulted in a test with A1 Team New Zealand and the role of the rookie driver for the series. In 2008, he competed in the British Formula 3 Championship for Carlin Motorsport, winning five times, and eventually finished the championship in third. He also competed in eight races in the Formula Three Euroseries for Carlin and RC Motorsport, and achieved two finishes in the points, although he was ineligible for points. In non-championship races, Hartley finished fifth at the Masters of Formula 3, and third at the Macau Grand Prix. After crashing in the qualification race, he started 20th on the grid and recorded the fastest race lap.
He stayed with Carlin for the full F3 Euroseries in 2009, finishing eleventh despite missing two rounds due to Formula Renault 3.5 Series commitments. In that series, Hartley competed for the defending champion Tech 1 Racing team, and ended fifteenth in the championship.
He was signed at Tech 1 for a full season of Formula Renault 3.5 in 2010, where he was partnered by Australian and fellow Red Bull Junior driver, Daniel Ricciardo. During the series' summer break it was announced that Hartley had been dropped from the Red Bull Junior Team. His seat was taken by British Formula 3 championship leader Jean-Éric Vergne.
Despite the loss of his Red Bull backing, Hartley made his GP2 Series début at Monza in September, replacing Vladimir Arabadzhiev at the Coloni team. He scored a point in the season finale at Yas Marina to place 27th in the championship.
For 2011, Hartley returned to Formula Renault 3.5, driving alongside Jan Charouz for the Gravity–Charouz Racing team. He also returned to GP2 for the eighth round of the series at Spa-Francorchamps, replacing Kevin Mirocha and driving alongside Johnny Cecotto Jr. in the Ocean Racing Technology team, for whom he had tested before the start of the season. He finished in fifth place in his first race with the team, and 19th in the overall championship.
Hartley began the 2012 season without a drive, but returned to Ocean for the second round of the championship in Bahrain in place of Jon Lancaster. After the two rounds in Bahrain, he was in turn replaced by Víctor Guerin. He finished 25th in the championship.
With no suitable single-seater drives available, Hartley joined the Murphy Prototypes sportscar team, which was competing in the LMP2 class in the European Le Mans Series. Following the cancellation of the second round of the ELMS championship and the series' future in doubt, Murphy was one of several ELMS teams invited to compete as a guest entry in the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, a round of the more prestigious FIA World Endurance Championship. Driving the team's Oreca 03-Nissan, Hartley finished tenth overall and third in the LMP2 class with teammates Warren Hughes and Jody Firth. The trio teamed up again for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but retired from the race after completing 196 laps of the circuit.
In October 2017, Hartley was offered a drive in Formula One by Toro Rosso for the United States Grand Prix which was held in Austin. Hartley replaced Pierre Gasly, who was absent contesting the Super Formula Championship final. It was Hartley's F1 debut where he became the ninth New Zealander to race in Formula One.
In November 2018, Hartley was released from the Toro Rosso team. In early May 2019, Toyota Gazoo Racing's WEC program announced that Hartley would be driving for the team for the full 2019/20 season, replacing the former occupant, Fernando Alonso. In August 2019, Geox Dragon Racing announced they had contracted Hartley for the 2019/20 Formula E season.

Formula One

Red Bull Racing (2008–2010)

In February 2008, aged 18, Hartley got his first taste of Formula One. He was invited to perform a show run for Red Bull Racing in Riyadh. From here he performed the initial three-day shake-down test for Scuderia Toro Rosso's 2008 spec car, the STR3. In November 2008, it was announced he would be providing cover for Mark Webber, who had broken his leg in a cycling accident, by performing testing duties alongside permanent test driver Sébastien Buemi for Red Bull in the 2008 RB4 F1 car.
For the season, Hartley was appointed as official reserve driver for both the Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso teams. However, unable to get his mandatory superlicence approved until April 2009, he was replaced in this role by retired F1 driver David Coulthard for the first races in Melbourne and Sepang. Hartley made his debut as reserve and test driver at the Spanish Grand Prix on 8 May. He is the first New Zealander to achieve F1 driver status since Mike Thackwell in 1984. He was replaced in the role by fellow Red Bull Junior driver Jaime Alguersuari for the second half of the season. However Hartley did not return to the reserve driver role with Red Bull and Toro Rosso following Jaime Alguersuari's promotion to a race seat, preferring to focus on his F3 and Renault World Series. David Coulthard again took over the role.
For the season, Hartley was again appointed official reserve driver for both Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso. He shared the reserve driver duties with his Formula Renault 3.5 teammate, Australian Daniel Ricciardo. The two drivers shared the duties on a race-by-race basis until round six of the championship. Following this race, Hartley's support from Red Bull was dropped, based on the fact he had not won a race in his season and a half in the championship.
On 13 September 2012, he participated in the young driver test at Magny-Cours. He drove 87 laps for Mercedes on the final day, setting the third quickest time behind Jules Bianchi and Rodolfo González.

Mercedes (2012–2013)

Hartley said that the simulator development work and the test drive with Mercedes would give him a new opportunity to get back into Formula One.

Toro Rosso (2017–2018)

Hartley made his Formula One début for Toro Rosso at the 2017 United States Grand Prix, replacing Pierre Gasly, who was absent to take part in the final round of the Japanese Super Formula Championship; he raced with the number 39. He qualified in 17th position after being eliminated during Qualifying 1, but started from 19th position due to engine penalties. He finished the race in 13th position, one lap down on race winner Lewis Hamilton. It was confirmed on 26 October that Hartley would remain a Toro Rosso driver for the remainder of the season, replacing Daniil Kvyat, and he chose 28 as his permanent race number.
for Toro Rosso
On 16 November 2017 Hartley was confirmed by Toro Rosso as a full-time driver alongside Pierre Gasly for the season. Hartley only managed to score on 3 occasions during the season, in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with tenth, German Grand Prix with tenth again and the United States Grand Prix with his highest finish in ninth, this meant he finished the season in nineteenth place, 4 places and 25 points behind his teammate, albeit with 2 more non-finishes. Two of his non-finishes came in consecutive races when he was collected in a crash by a "home" driver: In Monaco he was rear-ended by Charles Leclerc when the latter's Alfa Romeo Sauber suffered a brake failure behind him, and the following race in Canada he was collected by the Williams of Lance Stroll.
On 26 November 2018 it was confirmed that Hartley would not continue with Toro Rosso for 2019. He was replaced by Thai driver Alexander Albon.

Ferrari (2019)

On 4 February 2019, Scuderia Ferrari announced that they contracted Hartley as one of their development drivers for the 2019 season, alongside former Manor and Sauber and current Formula E driver Pascal Wehrlein.

Formula E

Following his exit from Formula One, Hartley reunited with Porsche for testing ahead of the manufacturer's debut in the championship. In August 2019, it was announced he would make his debut in the 2019–20 season with GEOX Dragon Racing, partnering Nico Müller.
Hartley left the Dragon Racing team with immediate effect in July 2020.

Sports prototypes

European Le Mans Series

Hartley was signed to drive an Oreca 03 for Murphy Prototypes in the 2012 and 2013 European Le Mans Series as well as the 2012 and 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans races. This was also complemented with a drive in the Rolex Sports Car Series for Starworks Motorsport in the Daytona Prototype category in 2013. He completed all but one round in that series due to a clash for the final round of the 2013 European Le Mans Series.

FIA World Endurance Championship

announced him as a factory driver of the Porsche 919 Hybrid in the FIA World Endurance Championship. This saw a four-year purple patch for Hartley winning the 2015 and 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship. He also won the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans and placed second in 2015 sharing the car with drivers like Timo Bernhard, former Formula One driver Mark Webber and fellow Kiwi Earl Bamber.
After one disappointing year in Formula One, Hartley was back in 2019 1000 Miles of Sebring, replacing Jenson Button in SMP Racing. He finished the race on podium, behind two Toyota TS050s. Weeks later, it was announced by Toyota that he would be driving for the team for 2019/20 season replacing 2-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso.

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

Hartley kept his ties with the American racing scene driving again for Starworks Motorsport in the 2014 and 2015 Daytona 24 Hours. In the 2016 Daytona 24 Hour he drove with Ford Chip Ganassi Racing. This tie saw him invited to drive for Chip Ganassi's Indycar team in 2018 but he had to decline due to securing a drive in Formula One with Toro Rosso. The 2017 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship saw him do three rounds for Extreme Speed Motorsports driving a Nissan Onroak DPi culminating in a victory at the 2017 Petit Le Mans.

Racing record

Career summary

Hartley was ineligible to score points.
* Season still in progress.

Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results

YearEntrantChassisEngine1234567891011121314151617181920DCPoints
2008R.C. Motorsport powered by VolkswagenDallara F308/077VolkswagenHOC
1		HOC
2		MUG
1		MUG
2		PAU
1		PAU
2		NOR
1		NOR
2		ZAN
1		ZAN
2		NÜR
1
Ret		NÜR
2
14		BRH
1		BRH
2		NC0
2008Carlin MotorsportDallara F308/055MercedesCAT
1
14		CAT
2
6		BUG
1
8		BUG
2
22		HOC
1
Ret		HOC
2
14		NC0
2009Carlin MotorsportDallara F308/074VolkswagenHOC
1
19		HOC
2
Ret		LAU
1
4		LAU
2
4		NOR
1
Ret		NOR
2
11		ZAN
1
10		ZAN
2
8		OSC
1
21		OSC
2
21		NÜR
1
22		NÜR
2
17		BRH
1
8		BRH
2
1		CAT
1		CAT
2		DIJ
1
Ret		DIJ
2
11		HOC
1		HOC
2		11th15

As Hartley was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score championship points.

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

YearTeam1234567891011121314151617PosPoints
2009Tech 1 RacingCAT
SPR
12		CAT
FEA
9		SPA
SPR
11		SPA
FEA
10		MON
FEA
17		HUN
SPR
17		HUN
FEA
12		SIL
SPR
5		SIL
FEA
13		BUG
SPR		BUG
FEA		ALG
SPR		ALG
FEA		NÜR
SPR
13		NÜR
FEA
2		ALC
SPR
15		ALC
FEA
16		15th26
2010Tech 1 RacingALC
1
6		ALC
2
6		SPA
1
Ret		SPA
2
6		MON
1
4		BRN
1
2		BRN
2
6		MAG
1
Ret		MAG
2
Ret		HUN
1
4		HUN
2
9		HOC
1		HOC
2		10th50
2010P1 MotorsportSIL
1
Ret		SIL
2
15		CAT
1		CAT
2		10th50
2011Gravity–Charouz RacingALC
1
21		ALC
2
Ret		SPA
1
4		SPA
2
8		MNZ
1
5		MNZ
2
Ret		MON
1
3		NÜR
1
15		NÜR
2
7		HUN
1
8		HUN
2
5		SIL
1
21		SIL
2
7		LEC
1
3		LEC
2
20		CAT
1
DNS		CAT
2
3		7th95

Complete GP2 Series results

YearEntrant123456789101112131415161718192021222324DCPoints
2010Scuderia ColoniCAT
FEA		CAT
SPR		MON
FEA		MON
SPR		IST
FEA		IST
SPR		VAL
FEA		VAL
SPR		SIL
FEA		SIL
SPR		HOC
FEA		HOC
SPR		HUN
FEA		HUN
SPR		SPA
FEA		SPA
SPR		MNZ
FEA
Ret		MNZ
SPR
Ret		YMC
FEA
9		YMC
SPR
6		27th1
2011Ocean Racing TechnologyIST
FEA		IST
SPR		CAT
FEA		CAT
SPR		MON
FEA		MON
SPR		VAL
FEA		VAL
SPR		SIL
FEA		SIL
SPR		NÜR
FEA		NÜR
SPR		HUN
FEA		HUN
SPR		SPA
FEA
5		SPA
SPR
9		MNZ
FEA
22		MNZ
SPR
20		19th4
2012Ocean Racing TechnologySEP
FEA		SEP
SPR		BHR1
FEA
10		BHR1
SPR
Ret		BHR2
FEA
13		BHR2
SPR
16		CAT
FEA		CAT
SPR		MON
FEA		MON
SPR		VAL
FEA		VAL
SPR		SIL
FEA		SIL
SPR		HOC
FEA		HOC
SPR		HUN
FEA		HUN
SPR		SPA
FEA		SPA
SPR		MNZ
FEA		MNZ
SPR		MRN
FEA		MRN
SPR		25th1

Complete Formula One results

YearEntrantChassisEngine123456789101112131415161718192021WDCPoints
Scuderia Toro RossoToro Rosso STR12Toro Rosso 1.6 V6 tAUSCHNBHRRUSESPMONCANAZEAUTGBRHUNBELITASINMALJPNUSA
13		MEX
Ret		BRA
Ret		ABU
15		23rd0
Red Bull Toro Rosso HondaToro Rosso STR13Honda RA618H 1.6 V6 tAUS
15		BHR
17		CHN
20		AZE
10		ESP
12		MON
19		CAN
Ret		FRA
14		AUT
Ret		GBR
Ret		GER
10		HUN
11		BEL
14		ITA
Ret		SIN
17		RUS
Ret		JPN
13		USA
9		MEX
14		BRA
11		ABU
12		19th4

Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Complete Formula E results

YearTeamChassisPowertrain1234567891011PosPoints
2019–20GEOX DragonSpark SRT05ePenske EV-4DIR
19		DIR
9		SCL
Ret		MEX
12		MRK
19		BERBERBERBERBERBER20th*2*

* Season still in progress.

Sportscars/GT results

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete European Le Mans Series results

YearTeamClassCarEngine12345RankPoints
2012Murphy PrototypesLMP2MG-Oreca 03Judd-BMW HK 3.6L V8LECDON
3		PET
Ret		10th15
2013Murphy PrototypesLMP2Oreca 03Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8SIL
7		IMO
6		RBR
7		HUN
2		LEC
1		5th64

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

As Hartley was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
* Season still in progress.

Rolex Sports Car Series results

YearEntrantClassChassisEngine123456789101112PosPoints
2013Starworks MotorsportDPRiley Mk XXVI DPDinan 5.0 L V8DAY
14		TXS
13		BAR
12		ATL
10		DET
8		MDO
10		WGL
3		IMS
4		ELK
1		KAN
6		LGA
16		LRP12th252

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

1 The No. 7 of Starworks Motorsport withdrew from the 12 Hours of Sebring before Practice.