Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley says he can "hold my head high" in terms of his performances, even if he loses his Formula 1 seat at the end of 2018.
Ex-Red Bull junior and WEC/Le Mans champion Hartley was drafted into Toro Rosso’s line-up at the back end of 2017 and retained his seat for this season, alongside Pierre Gasly.
Hartley, though, has scored just a couple of points compared to the 26 amassed by Gasly, and Red Bull has explored alternatives for 2019, including a highly-publicised chase of McLaren junior Lando Norris.
Hartley explained that this year has "made me realise where my energy needs to be" and that "it has made things a lot clearer for me on where my mind needs to be focused".
"If Formula 1 finishes at the end of the year I’ll hold my head high as I know the job I’m doing behind-the-scenes and I’m giving it everything I can, not everyone knows the full story.
"I feel in a good place and hope that I consolidate the momentum I’ve had in the last weekends even if I didn’t have the results, hopefully can turn that into more results in the next races."
When questioned on whether he had the feeling he could be axed at the end of 2018, Hartley replied: “Not at all, I guess the fact that two months ago everyone was questioning [me].
"I was getting asked questions every second if my F1 career was over, and all these things, I guess it changed my attitude a little bit and I feel very strong about it, feel confident I can do the job.
"I guess my point is that a lot of things are out of my control and I feel content I’m doing the best I can, working with the team the best I can, and hope the results can follow."
