Hartley's F1 dream now over? Poor results in Renault 3.5 have not helped Hartley The Formula One dreams of Kiwi driver Brendon Hartley took a nose dive today, with news form reliable sources in the sport saying he had been dropped from Red Bull's Junior programme - the latest twist in what seems to be a bout of internal politics in the Austrian team. Hartley is said to have been dropped from Red Bull's Junior programme - which is headed up by the controversial Dr Helmut Marko. Promising Canadian Robert Wickens was dropped from the programme at the end of 2009, and Hartley's indifferent results in Renault 3.5 have precipitated his dismissal. Joe Saward, a respected motorsport insider whose internet blogs are considered accurate, revealed that Hartley had been dropped. In an article speculating on a power struggle in the RB organisation, Saward said Hartley was set to pay for his mixed racing form this season. "On the race tracks he has been having a pretty poor year. Daniel Ricciardo is currently second in the Renault World Series (RWS), with two wins in 12 races, while Hartley (below) is sixth, having failed to win a race," he wrote. We hear that Hartley has now been axed from the Red Bull Junior Team and that this was done without any consultation with the F1 team, which was happy with the work that he has been doing." Saward questioned who ran the RB team - either team principal Christian Horner or their "motorsport consultant" Dr Helmut Marko, on behalf of Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz. "In recent weeks it has seemed that Marko was the man calling the shots" he said, referring to the team's highly controversial decision to give parts of Mark Webber's car to Sebastien vettel. Hartley's best chance now of making F1 would seem to be as a test driver with one of the new, slower teams at the back of the grid, but even there, financial backing or the ability top attract it is paramount. With Hartley seemingly having lost his F1 chance for now, it would appear that NZ's best chances of an F1 driver now lie with either Chris Van Der Drift, currently competing and winning in SuperLeague Formula, or Richie Stanaway, who is dominating the German Formula Masters series.