By Chris Forster
Brendon Hartley will get a chance to make a name for himself on motorsport's biggest stage this weekend.
The 27-year-old from Palmerston North will be thrust into the media spotlight ahead of his Formula One debut for Toro Rosso at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
He's also got a chance to finish ahead of his new teammate, Daniil Kvyat.
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Formula One expert and BBC commentator Mark Gallagher believes it will be one of Hartley's goals against the Russian driver, who's failed to fire in four years with the two Red Bull-funded teams.
"He knows he's not going to win the race because Toro Rosso is not a race winning car ... but what he has the opportunity to do is potentially to beat his teammate. That's got to be one objective is to try and beat Daniil Kvyat over the course of the weekend".
Gallagher also believes Hartley will be given more than one chance to impress by Toro Rosso, as Formula One heads over the border to Mexico next week.
"It's only really by viewing him over the course of two to three weekends at least as they will build up a real picture of what a talent Brendon Hartley really is".
There are four races left in the Formula One season, with the last two stops in Brazil and Abu Dhabi in November.
Hartley will be in a different sort of hot seat at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday when he faces the media at an F.I.A press conference.
"Every single one of the six to eight hundred media in Austin, Texas will want to talk to him", warns Gallagher.
"There's a lot of pressure on this guy. He's going to find the scale of Formula One really quite daunting, even after his experience of winning in the world sports cars with Porsche."
The New Zealander will get three practice sessions to reacquaint himself with the track in the single-seat cockpit, before qualifying on Sunday morning (NZ time) and the US Grand Prix on Monday morning.
Lewis Hamilton has the opportunity to wrap up the Drivers' Championship for a fourth time.
The British Mercedes driver needs to score 16 more points than Sebastian Vettel, who's fallen off the pace with Ferrari in the last three Asian races.
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