Motorsport: Hartley busting to race in Mexico

Brendon Hartley impressed on his Formula 1 debut in Texas. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealand's latest Formula 1 driver Brendon Hartley should know today if he will compete for Toro Rosso at the Mexican Grand Prix this weekend.

The 27-year-old finished a credible 13th in his debut race with the team at the US Grand Prix yesterday - won by England's Lewis Hamilton to close in on another world title - and is tipped to get another start as he looks to get more familiar with the car and the Formula 1 environment.

But, complicating matters is the return of youngster Pierre Gasly after missing yesterday's race in Austin due to a schedule clash with the Super Formula in Japan while Russian Daniil Kvyat collected a championship point for finishing 10th at the Circuit of the Americas.

Toro Rosso is locked in an intense battle on the constructors' standings with fellow mid-pack teams Renault and Williams and will be desperate to add as many points as possible over the final three races.

But Hartley's impressive start to his Formula 1 career, coming in cold and showing immediate class, should see him given the nod to continue to try to win a fulltime drive next season.

Team boss Franz Tost gave a strong hint on Radio Sport on Sunday that Hartley would get another crack in Mexico and his strong first-up showing should only further enhance that.

Hartley was pleased with his overall performance in Austin.

"It was tough out there, but it's been an awesome debut Grand Prix," he said. "It's all starting to sink in now and it won't be until I go to bed and put my eyes at rest that I'll start to process everything."

He started the race in 19th after the team changed out his power unit and accepted a grid penalty as a result. After a cautious start, he got better as the race went on.

"I didn't do the best of standing starts, but it's been a long time since I did one of those," the current World Endurance Championship leader said.

"After that, I was in many battles and I'm satisfied with my race - the pace was pretty strong, especially at the end. I think the only small mistake I made was getting overtaken by [Lance] Stroll a quarter into the race, as I couldn't pass him back and he held me up a bit.

"So there's been lots of challenges, lots of things to learn and I hope I get another shot at it to put all these experiences into practice.

"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."

Toro Rosso are expected to make a call on which two drivers will get behind the wheel in Mexico today but they were certainly pleased with the Kiwi's debut.

"Brendon should be pleased with his race, as he has performed consistently and delivered on everything we asked of him. For sure he picked up useful experience and understanding of our car. Well done to him," Head of Vehicle Performance Jody Egginton said.