Motorsport: A tough learning curve for Hartley

If tough challenges make champions, teenager Brendon Hartley should be well set to realise his Formula One dreams.

The 16-year-old from Palmerston North was recognised as an outstanding driving talent by the Red Bull organisation, which runs two F1 teams. He won a place in the Red Bull junior team, run by Dr Helmut Marko, which offers a pathway to motorsport's premier class.

So far, so glamorous. But the reality was leaving home to fend for himself for the first time in Oschersleben, an unloved east German town, competing on European tracks he had never seen before against fields of up to 40 drivers with far greater experience.

Hartley struggled but has fought back, recording his best results before flying home for a short break this week. He had a third place and set the fastest lap time in the Northern European Formula Renault races in Sweden, outpacing the more experienced Kiwi Chris van der Drift, who is a title contender.

"It was strange being away from friends and family," Hartley said. "I don't think I ever got used to it, really. I was living with another driver my own age and I think I'm pretty capable of looking after myself - I certainly learned to be independent."

After outstanding results at a young age in Formula First, Formula Ford and Toyotas back home, the European scene is facing him with a tough learning curve. He competes in both the North European and Eurocup Formula Renault championships against drivers from all over the world, with similar dreams of Formula One.

"Some of the drivers are in their third or fourth seasons and I'm sure knowing the tracks helps them," said Hartley. "At the start of the season I had a few crashes. I've got though that and that shouldn't happen again.

"The most positive thing is that my pace is right up there now, so possibly I can start to win some races. At the start of the season we weren't there, to be honest. But we got through that.

"Dr Marko is happy. He makes all the decisions at Red Bull and he's a tough man. There have already been five drivers kicked out this year. They started with 20 in the junior team and now there's 15.

"I think he's happy with me now and I'm pretty confident I'll have a drive for next year. He's pleased that I've been improving all the time."

Hartley is 10th in the Eurocup series, led by Van der Drift. He will complete the season before coming home to race again in Toyotas. If all goes well, he hopes to return for another season in Formula Renault with Red Bull, living at the team headquarters at Fuschl-am-See in Austria.

Formula Renault has a good track record in spawning F1 talent - McLaren's Finnish star Kimi Raikkonen graduated straight from the series to the big time.