Hartley: The pressure only gets more

With rumours of a possible 2018 deal dangling in front of him, Brendon Hartley admits the pressure is mounting.

Last weekend Hartley made his Formula 1 debut with Toro Rosso at the age of 27.

The New Zealander replaced Pierre Gasly in Austin and finished a respectable P13.

This weekend in Mexico he’s replacing Daniil Kvyat and has the Russian driver’s seat for the remainder of this season.

But tackling a second race, with that little bit more experience under his belt, means there is even more pressure on Hartley’s shoulders to perform.

“I think it’s clear that the pressure gets higher, you know,” he told ESPN.

“Expectation was quite low coming in, everyone in the team understood that it was a very tall ask for me in Austin, and I’m going to do my best to stay as relaxed as I was in Austin.

“As a driver, especially from what I’ve experienced a lot of the pressure comes from within.

“So I think it’s about that and focusing on what’s important, which is just driving the car as quick as possible and putting all the pieces that’s required to put an F1 race weekend together.

“Getting them all in a line, that’s a tough ask.

“These cars are tough, very tricky to drive.

“I think there were loads of articles that explained that at the start of the year with these high powered, high downforce cars, traction is tricky.

“There was lots to learn in one weekend but you’re right, the pressure only gets more, that’s clear.”