Brendon Hartley facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Brendon Hartley
Hartley at the 2024 6 Hours of Fuji
Born	Brendon Morris Hartley (1989-11-10) 10 November 1989 (age 35) Palmerston North, Manawatū-Whanganui, New Zealand
Spouse(s)	Sarah Wilson ​ (m. 2018)​
FIA World Endurance Championship career
Debut season	2012
Current team	Toyota Gazoo Racing
Racing licence	FIA Platinum
Car no.	8
Former teams	Murphy, Porsche, SMP
Starts	79
Championships	4 (2015, 2017, 2022, 2023)
Wins	23
Podiums	51
Poles	17
Fastest laps	8
Best finish	1st in 2015, 2017 (LMP1), 2022, 2023 (LMH)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	New Zealander
Active years	2017–2018
Teams	Toro Rosso
Car number	28
Entries	25 (25 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	4
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	2017 United States Grand Prix
Last entry	2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	2012–2017, 2020–2024
Teams	Murphy, Porsche, Toyota
Best finish	1st (2017, 2020, 2022)
Class wins	3 (2017, 2020, 2022)
Previous series
2009–2011 2008–2009 2008 2007 2006–2007 2006 2005–2006 2003–04 2002–03	Formula Renault 3.5 F3 Euro Series British F3 Formula Renault 2.0 Italia Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC Toyota Racing Series Formula Ford NZ Formula First NZ
Championship titles
2007	Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0

Brendon Morris Hartley (born 10 November 1989) is a talented racing driver from New Zealand. He is known for competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota. Brendon also raced in Formula One from 2017 to 2018.

In endurance racing, which involves long races, Brendon Hartley has won the FIA World Endurance Championship four times. This is a record he shares with another driver, Sébastien Buemi. He has also won the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race three times.

He won the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship with his teammates Mark Webber and Timo Bernhard. He won again in 2017 with Bernhard and Earl Bamber. Brendon also achieved victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2017, 2020, and 2022 with different teammates.

Before his endurance racing success, he competed in Formula One for Scuderia Toro Rosso. His first Formula One race was the 2017 United States Grand Prix.

Early Racing Adventures

Hartley won the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship in 2007.

Hartley driving for Carlin Motorsport at the Croft round of the 2008 British Formula 3 season

Hartley driving for Tech 1 Racing at the Silverstone round of the 2009 Formula Renault 3.5 Series

Hartley driving for Ocean Racing Technology at the Monza round of the 2011 GP2 Series

Brendon Hartley was born in Palmerston North, New Zealand. His family was very involved in motorsport. His father, Brian, was also a racing driver.

Brendon started his racing journey at age six in kart racing, following his brother Nelson. When he was twelve, he competed in his first full race championship, called Formula First. He finished seventh in that season. In 2003, he won the New Zealand Formula Ford Festival. This win helped him get a spot in the Formula Ford championship the next year. He won two races in that series.

After racing in Formula Toyota New Zealand, Brendon moved to Europe. There, he competed in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup. In his second year in Formula Renault, he won the Eurocup championship title in 2007.

In 2007, Brendon also made his debut in Formula Three at the Masters of Formula 3 event. He finished fourth. In 2008, he raced in the British Formula 3 Championship and won five times, finishing third overall. He also competed in the Formula Three Euroseries and finished third at the Macau Grand Prix.

In 2009, he continued in the F3 Euroseries and also raced in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. He was part of the Red Bull Junior Team, which supports young drivers. However, he was later dropped from the team.

Brendon then made his debut in the GP2 Series in 2010. He returned to Formula Renault 3.5 in 2011 and also raced in GP2 again.

Sportscar Success (2012-2017)

When there were no suitable single-seater racing opportunities, Brendon joined the Murphy Prototypes sportscar team in 2012. They raced in the LMP2 class of the 2012 European Le Mans Series. He finished third in his first race with the team at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. He also competed in the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans with them.

In 2013, he continued with Murphy in the 2013 European Le Mans Series and also raced for Starworks Motorsport in the US-based 2013 Rolex Sports Car Series. He won a race in both championships.

In 2014, Porsche announced that Brendon Hartley would be a factory driver. This meant he would drive a Porsche 919 Hybrid in the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship. Over the next four years, he won the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2015 and 2017. He also won the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans and finished second in 2015. He shared the car with drivers like Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber, and Earl Bamber.

Formula One Journey

Red Bull Racing (2008–2010)

In February 2008, at 18 years old, Brendon Hartley had his first experience with Formula One cars. He was invited to do a show run for Red Bull Racing. He also helped test the 2008 car for Scuderia Toro Rosso. In November 2008, he was announced as a test driver for Red Bull.

For the 2009 season, Brendon was the official reserve driver for both the Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso teams. He was the first New Zealander to achieve F1 driver status since Mike Thackwell in 1984. However, he was later replaced by Jaime Alguersuari.

In 2010, Brendon was again a reserve driver for both teams, sharing duties with Daniel Ricciardo. However, Red Bull stopped supporting him because he hadn't won a race in his Formula Renault 3.5 season.

On September 13, 2012, he took part in a young driver test for Mercedes. He set the third fastest time.

Toro Rosso (2017–2018)

Hartley on his debut at the 2017 United States Grand Prix for Scuderia Toro Rosso

Hartley (center) at the 2017 United States Grand Prix

Brendon Hartley made his Formula One racing debut for Toro Rosso at the 2017 United States Grand Prix. He finished the race in 13th position. It was then confirmed that he would continue to race for Toro Rosso for the rest of the 2017 season.

Hartley at the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix

On November 16, 2017, Toro Rosso confirmed Brendon Hartley as a full-time driver for the 2018 season, alongside Pierre Gasly. Hartley scored points in three races: the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the 2018 German Grand Prix, and the 2018 United States Grand Prix, where he achieved his best finish of ninth place. He finished the season in nineteenth place overall.

On November 26, 2018, it was announced that Brendon would not continue with Toro Rosso for 2019. He was replaced by Alexander Albon.

Ferrari (2019)

On February 4, 2019, Scuderia Ferrari announced that Brendon Hartley would be one of their development drivers for the 2019 Formula One season.

Formula E Career

After leaving Formula One, Brendon Hartley rejoined Porsche for testing in the Formula E championship, which uses electric cars. In August 2019, he announced he would make his debut in the 2019–20 season with GEOX Dragon Racing.

Brendon left the Dragon Racing team in July 2020.

Sportscar Racing (2019-Present)

FIA World Endurance Championship

The No. 17 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Mark Webber won four races and the 2015 World Endurance Drivers' Championship.

SMP Racing (2019)

After his time in Formula One, Brendon Hartley returned to endurance racing in 2019, joining SMP Racing. He finished on the podium in his first race back. Soon after, Toyota announced he would drive for their team for the 2019–20 season.

Toyota (2019-Present)

His time with Toyota started well with a podium finish in Silverstone and a win in Fuji. He and his co-driver Kazuki Nakajima secured pole position for their car. They had several second-place finishes, and Brendon won his first of three 24 Hours of Le Mans victories in 2020.

Brendon continued with Toyota as they moved to the new Hypercar rules. He and his team won the first two races of the 2021 season. In 2022, he won the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship and the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2023, he won the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship again. As of July 2025, he is still competing with Toyota Gazoo Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

Brendon also kept racing in the American racing scene. He drove for Starworks Motorsport in the Daytona 24 Hours in 2014 and 2015. In 2016, he raced with Ford Chip Ganassi Racing at the Daytona 24 Hour. In 2017, he raced three rounds for Extreme Speed Motorsports and won the 2017 Petit Le Mans race. He has continued to race in this series in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Personal Life

Brendon Hartley lives in Monaco. He is married to Sarah Wilson. They got engaged in July 2016 and married in January 2018. They had been together for about twelve years before getting married. In his free time, Brendon enjoys mountain biking and road cycling. He also plays the guitar.

Racing Achievements

Career Summary

^† Hartley was ineligible to score points.
^* Season still in progress.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans Results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2012	Murphy Prototypes	Jody Firth Warren Hughes	Oreca 03-Nissan	LMP2	196	DNF	DNF
2013	Murphy Prototypes	Karun Chandhok Mark Patterson	Oreca 03-Nissan	LMP2	319	12th	6th
2014	Porsche Team	Timo Bernhard Mark Webber	Porsche 919 Hybrid	LMP1-H	346	NC	NC
2015	Porsche Team	Timo Bernhard Mark Webber	Porsche 919 Hybrid	LMP1	394	2nd	2nd
2016	Porsche Team	Timo Bernhard Mark Webber	Porsche 919 Hybrid	LMP1	346	13th	5th
2017	Porsche Team	Timo Bernhard Earl Bamber	Porsche 919 Hybrid	LMP1	367	1st	1st
2020	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Sébastien Buemi Kazuki Nakajima	Toyota TS050 Hybrid	LMP1	387	1st	1st
2021	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Sébastien Buemi Kazuki Nakajima	Toyota GR010 Hybrid	Hypercar	369	2nd	2nd
2022	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Sébastien Buemi Ryō Hirakawa	Toyota GR010 Hybrid	Hypercar	380	1st	1st
2023	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Sébastien Buemi Ryō Hirakawa	Toyota GR010 Hybrid	Hypercar	342	2nd	2nd
2024	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Sébastien Buemi Ryō Hirakawa	Toyota GR010 Hybrid	Hypercar	311	5th	5th
2025	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Sébastien Buemi Ryō Hirakawa	Toyota GR010 Hybrid	Hypercar	380	15th	15th

See also

In Spanish: Brendon Hartley para niños