Hartley staying realistic despite first F1 point

Brendon Hartley refused to get too excited about scoring his first Formula 1 point during Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, conceding that Toro Rosso lacked the pace to fight with the midfield for much of the Baku weekend.

In his eighth grand prix start, Hartley managed to cross the line 10th to pick up his maiden F1 score after a string of late incidents played into the hands of the Toro Rosso driver.

Hartley had spent much of the race running in the lower-reaches of the order, even falling a lap down at one stage, giving him a modest outlook following the race despite scoring his best F1 result to date.

"I’m pretty happy to get my first point in Formula 1. Definitely we’ve had opportunities, especially in Bahrain, but to finally get the first point it’s nice," Hartley said.

"Today I felt like I was on the defensive the whole race. We really didn’t have the pace. There was a lot of drama all around us, I kept it clean, I didn’t make any mistakes and I brought home one point, so I’m happy for that.

"But, at the same time, we really didn’t have the pace to be much further ahead. Obviously we benefited from other people’s mistakes and did a good strategy. I think we did everything we could, we gave it all we had, but today we weren’t really quick enough, especially when we compare it with only two races ago in Bahrain.

"I think there’s still some work to be done by everyone, but I’m happy with the job everyone did to help me secure my first point in Formula 1."

Toro Rosso's form has varied greatly so far this season, with Hartley's teammate, Pierre Gasly, taking fourth in Bahrain at the start of the month as the team headed up the midfield before dropping towards the back in China and Baku.

Asked where the pace was lacking in Baku, Hartley replied: "I don't know, I wish I knew.

"The obvious question is why we were so quick in Bahrain? Pierre [Gasly] had the result, but I also had the pace in Bahrain, but obviously I didn’t get the result.

"Right at this very moment I don’t have the answers and I think the team will continue to try to understand it. It was only a few weeks ago."