Hartley claims he would have scored points had he finished the race

Brendon Hartley believes his Toro Rosso could have scored points had he completed the Grand Prix yesterday. The New Zealander retired on lap 54 due to an issue with the car.

Honda opted to take a penalty with Hartley as he had a new power unit installed for the race. This move demoted him to 19th on the grid.

He managed to move up to 11th place and onto the cusp of points. Toro Rosso tactically left him out on the supersoft tyres, but the hope of this plan died when he had to retire.

"The pace was really good, and I had a real opportunity to score points. We were going really long, the plan was to put ultra softs for the end, and I think I would have been able to pass the field and points was definitively possible," Hartley claimed in an interview on Motorsport week.

Red Bull would have been keen to investigate what caused Hartley to break down. But the 28-year-old claims they have nothing to worry about.

"We don't yet know what broke, but it was nothing to do with Honda, but something on the rear of the car. There was no high impact with anything, so they're still investigating," he added.

Since the conclusion of the Austrian Grand Prix, the pressure has been squeezed on the team. Sauber have moved within 3 points, as Force India move 23 points ahead.