Motorsport: Schoolboy on path to Formula One

Brendon Hartley, a 15-year-old Palmerston North schoolboy, has become the first New Zealander in recent times to have a clear path to Formula One motor racing.

Hartley has won a spot on the Red Bull junior racing team after a test session at Estoril in Portugal at which 22 drivers from around the world competed for four places and support of €100,000 ($173,000) a year.

The four drivers will be placed with teams in the Renault 2000 European and Italian championships next season with the chance to progress to Formula Three, Renault V6 and ultimately Formula One.

Red Bull runs two cars in Formula One but will have four next season after buying the Minardi team to use for driver development.

"I've got the opportunity and now it's up to me,"said Hartley yesterday. "Motor racing is all I've ever wanted to do so I hope it works out. I feel lucky just to be travelling over there at 15. It's very different. It's certainly more exciting than Palmerston North."

Hartley comes from a motorsport family. His father, Bryan, and mother, Lynda, raced Mini Sevens and his 19-year-old brother has had a successful career in single-seaters.

Brendon started racing karts at 6 and progressed through the single-seater ranks to Formula Toyota, where he won the first race of the new formula, impressing a number of European observers.

Two years ago he had approached PJ Johnston, the Aucklander who organised the funds that set Scott Dixon on his successful career overseas, and Johnston was influential in drawing Hartley to the attention of Dr Helmut Marko, who runs the Red Bull junior team.

Johnston said yesterday Dixon had repaid investors in his career sixfold and many of the same group were backing Hartley.

The youngster had impressed because he was good both on the track and off it, displaying maturity beyond his years.

"Drivers must train hard, eat well and show self-discipline. Brendon has that at an early age," he said.

The Red Bull junior team has had plenty of success in the past four years, winning seven titles, 70 races and 89 pole positions.

From its ranks Christian Klien, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Patrick Friesacher, Enrique Bernoldi and Narain Karthikeyan have had Formula One drives.

And as he takes on the big fields in Renault 2000, Hartley can be encouraged by the fact that a certain Kimi Raikkonen progressed from this category directly to Formula One.