KEY POINTS:
Will Brendon Hartley be the next New Zealander to get a fulltime drive in Formula One? Who really knows, and I'm not prepared to say he'll be following in the footsteps of Denny Hulme and make a great success of his career - it's too early.
But at 19 he has grasped every opportunity so far and made the very most of it. He proved that by winning five Formula Three races and setting a new lap record at the Macau Grand Prix this year.
He's had some good advice and support along the way and the building blocks were in place right from the start in New Zealand. Hartley won the very first Toyota Racing Series race when he was 15 in the same Tatus chassis as the car he won the European Formula Renault series in.
Former Grand Prix driver Helmut Marko signed him up for the Red Bull Development team three years ago and he is no mug when it comes to spotting young talent and a quick driver when he sees one.
Bob McMurray, who had 33 years' working experience with McLaren F1, thinks there's potential there. "Hartley has all the right tools to take the next step into Formula One. I just hope the economic climate does not put a spoke in his wheels. He has the talent to go on."
Murray Taylor ran his own Formula Three team in Europe with drivers including Damon Hill and Tommy Byrne, so he's got an eye for talent. "He's got the raw speed teams look for and he's still young. Young drivers can be taught the technicalities and media-groomed, but he's got the consistency to go fast lap after lap."
Hartley is firmly placed on the lower rungs of the F1 ladder, let's hope he can climb to the top. Once you've made it in F1 the baubles are very attractive indeed. Big pay cheques and a champagne lifestyle. But to win a championship, you need your feet firmly on the ground.
