The Canadian Grand Prix was a crucial race for under fire Toro Rosso driver Brendon Hartley, had he bombed on the weekend in Montreal he would have been axed by the team, but despite a first lap shunt, the New Zealander has redeemed himself for now.
In practice and qualifying at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, 28-year-old Hartley had the measure of his teammate Pierre Gasly who had been outshining him until that point.
This coupled to a number of incidents in the half-dozen races of the season seriously compromised Hartley who appears to have been saved by his timely Canada practice and qualifying performances, after which Marko conceded that his driver was "looking a bit better."
Ahead of the French Grand Prix, team consultant Helmut Marko revealed to Motorsport Magazin, "If the trajectory had not improved, then we would have had to look somewhere for an alternative. But that's not the case and Brendon is now competitive."
Prior to that, it emerged that Marko offered McLaren's highly rated junior Lando Norris a seat with Toro Rosso to replace Hartley from the Austrian Grand Prix, but this was apparently rejected by the Woking outfit.
Hartley, a double WEC champion and Le Mans winner, has only scored one point in the first seven races of the season while in comparison fellow rookie teammate Gasly has 18 points to his name.
Big Question: Can Brendon remain competitive and keep his Toro Rosso seat?
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