Brendon Hartley began his racing career in karting and claimed the New Zealand Formula Ford Festival title in 2003 at the age of 14, which opened the door to competition in Europe. In 2007, he won the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship, and in 2008 he joined the Red Bull Junior program, serving as a test driver for Toro Rosso.

From 2012, Hartley worked as a test driver for Mercedes while also beginning his sports car racing career in prototype machines. His performances led to a call-up to Porsche’s LMP1 factory team in 2014.

In 2015, he captured the WEC LMP1 drivers’ championship, and in 2017 achieved overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans along with the series title, once again proving his ability at the highest level of endurance racing. That success brought him back onto Red Bull’s radar, and at the 2017 United States Grand Prix, Hartley made his long-awaited Formula One debut with Toro Rosso at the age of 27.

In 2018, he became a regular driver for Toro Rosso Honda, where he applied the energy management expertise developed in endurance racing to support power unit development. Despite a challenging season, he delivered a standout performance at Honda’s home race, qualifying sixth at the Japanese Grand Prix and demonstrating his speed to the fans.

From 2019 onward, Hartley returned full-time to the WEC, joining Toyota and winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2020 and 2022, bringing his total Le Mans victories to three. He also secured the WEC drivers’ championship in 2022 and 2023, becoming a four-time series champion overall. With this record, Hartley is widely recognized as one of the top drivers in world endurance racing.