Pierre Gasly will return to compete for Toro Rosso at the Mexican Grand Prix and the Frenchman will have Brendon Hartley alongside as he gets another chance following his debut last weekend in Austin.
The New Zealander performed amicably in his first Formula 1 race finishing 13th after starting 19th, due to engine penalties, with his strength on long-runs from several years of endurance racing serving him well.
With his first full weekend of Grand Prix experience under his belt, Hartley will now get the chance to take all that and use it to further his chances of earning a 2018 seat at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, another circuit he knows from the WEC.
Reflecting on his race at the Circuit of the Americas, though, he said: “It was tough out there, but it’s been an awesome debut Grand Prix! It’s all starting to sink in now and it won’t be until I go to bed tonight and put my eyes at rest that I’ll start to process everything.
“I didn’t do the best of standing starts, but it’s been a long time since I did one of those! After that, I was in many battles and I’m satisfied with my race – the pace was pretty strong, especially at the end.”
Given he had such little preparation time and had to adapt to the very different tyres and demands of a modern F1 car, to finish within 30 seconds of Daniil Kvyat in 10th was an impressive achievement and Hartley is sure it should have been closer.
“I think the only small mistake I made was getting overtaken by Stroll a quarter into the race, as I couldn’t pass him back and he held me up a bit,” he explained.
“There’s been lots of challenges, lots of things to learn, I’ve enjoyed every single moment of this race weekend and I’d like to thank the whole team for this, it’s been amazing!”
As for Kvyat’s own return after two races on the sidelines, the Russian was impressive and certainly looked to have a point to prove as he dropped to 10th late on to a recovering Felipe Massa.
“It was my best race this year,” he declared. “I came here with a new approach to use all the knowledge that I have. I feel I have become stronger psychologically, with a new motivation.
“With a few weeks rest I was able to disconnect and can again feel great potential and used it. I hope I still have the chance to take further advantage of what I have learned.”
To see that not be rewarded with a seat in Mexico will certainly disappoint the 23-year-old, however, andhe revealed hopes of talks with motorsport advisor Helmut Marko had also gone unfulfilled.
“No, I have not but I do not want to answer questions about this. When I meet, you will know everything,” he added.
Gasly will return after what turned out to be a pointless trip to Japan last weekend, as his chance of claiming the Super Formula title were dashed by a typhoon which led to a cancellation of the racing at Suzuka.
After a 14th and 13th in his first two races in F1, now the former GP2 champion will need to start producing the results expected with his competition strengthening for a 2018 Toro Rosso seat.
