Hartley not giving up on F1 ambitions

The 20-year-old New Zealander had combined his reserve and test driver duties for the energy drink company's F1 team with a race seat with Tech 1 in Formula Renault 3.5 - which will now be taken up by British Formula 3 championship leader Jean-Eric Vergne alongside British F3 champion Daniel Ricciardo.

"The F1 dream is still there and I'm going to fight for it," Hartley told AUTOSPORT. "Perhaps this is a wake-up. The last year hasn't gone well, so a change of environment could be good for me."

Hartley joined the Red Bull programme in 2006 and won the Formula Renault Eurocup the following year.

His best results this season were a second place at Brno and two fastest laps, though he could have won at Spa but for a mechanical failure.

Hartley added that while he was disappointed he was grateful to Red Bull for the help he had received in his career: "I want to get across that they have given me a lot and I'm not bitter."

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