Motorsport

Alexander Albon replaces Brendon Hartley at Toro Rosso for 2019

27 November 2018 - 22:58 By Reuters and Thomas Falkiner
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Brendon Hartley has been sacked following a less than perfect year at Toro Rosso
Brendon Hartley has been sacked following a less than perfect year at Toro Rosso
Image: Red Bull Content Pool

British-born Thai racer Alexander Albon will race for Toro Rosso next season, the Red Bull-owned Formula One team announced on Monday.

He will replace New Zealander Brendon Hartley who had a difficult debut season in Formula One. Hartley, 29, was plagued by a mixture of bad luck and lacklustre performances for most of the 2018 season.

View this post on Instagram

I left the circuit on Sunday with my head held high. I’m very proud of my story and journey so far but am left feeling I have unfinished business in F1. For the moment that has been put on hold. I’ve hit speed bumps before and I am a strong believer that tough situations make you stronger, it also helps that I have a great NZ support crew, family, friends and wife. I also want to thank my trainer Rich and almost all of the 500 strong Toro Rosso staff who I have stood beside and have enjoyed working with this season, all of the engineering team, the mechanics, marketing, PR, logistics, hospitality crew, factory staff and of course all at Honda Racing. I really do appreciate the support I have received from fans across the globe this year, I still have plenty more pages to write in my story and I will make the most of the opportunity's in the next chapter.

A post shared by Brendon Hartley (@brendon_hartley) on

Albon, 22, finished third in this year's Formula Two championship and had been due to compete for Nissan in the all-electric Formula E series. He will partner Russian Daniil Kvyat at Toro Rosso.

Alexander Albon has high hopes for 2019
Alexander Albon has high hopes for 2019
Image: Red Bull Content Pool
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