Despite retaining his ties to Porsche, Scuderia Toro Rosso‘s Brendon Hartley has announced he will be focussing solely on Formula One for the 2018 season.
Hartley was called up for the Toro Rosso drive late in the 2017 season, and simultaneously completed his Formula One and World Endurance Championship duties, leading to a hectic end to 2017, where he competed in eight races over eight weekends. He will be team-mates with Frenchman Pierre Gasly in the upcoming races.
But for the Kiwi’s first full season in Formula One, he has announced that he will be directing all his attention to the twenty-one race calendar.
“I will still have an association with Porsche but I won’t be doing any races other than Formula 1, which I think is the sensible thing for me to do because I need to be fully focused,” he commented when speaking to the NZ Herald.
Hartley appreciates the opportunity that he has been offered in Formula One, and this has helped to change his mentality towards his workload, commenting that in past years, he has tried to do every race available to him, something that will now be impossible as a full-time Formula One driver.
“In previous years I have tried to compete in every single race I could. But I have a big challenge ahead. I am very aware of that.
“I am going to spend all my energy and time on being fit enough, going into the races fresh, sharp and putting every effort into making this season work.
“It is a massive opportunity that I have got there.”
