Kiwi Formula One driver Brendon Hartley has responded well to the message he needs to lift his game if he wants to remain with Toro Rosso, with two strong practice sessions at the Mexican Grand Prix on Saturday (NZ time).
During the first session, Hartley finished ninth, which was followed up with a sixth at the second practice.
His time of 1m 18.06s was faster than Lewis Hamilton, who finished one spot behind the Kiwi in the second run, while teammate Pierre Gasly finished 20th and 14th, due to another engine change.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen set the pace in Mexico, finishing in first in both sessions.
There will be one more practice session on Sunday, before qualifying for Monday's race.
The results come days after Hartley finished a career-best ninth during the US Grand Prix in Austin.
But it appears Hartley will need similar results or better with three races left, if he wants to keep his seat in 2019.
Hartley is 19th in the Drivers' Championship, 24 points less than French teammate Gasly this year, and Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost said Hartley must continue to impress if he wants to stay.
"He showed a good race in Austin," said Tost in Mexico. "But nevertheless, if you look to the results, he has four points, Pierre has 28 points,"
"That means he has to improve his performance, if he wants to stay in the team.
"First of all, we have to finish the season to get a clear picture and then I assume in December, Red Bull will decide the driver line-up of Toro Rosso."
Hartley hit out at Toro Rosso after his impressive display in Texas, saying his team hadn't given him the support he needed to succeed.
"Obviously, having to answer questions about my future every week, which is getting increasingly annoying, and then I've read in the media that I have to beat my teammate [Gasley]," he told Sky Sports UK.
"I was ahead in Singapore, until team orders. I was ahead in Russia, until the car broke down.
"I was ahead in Suzuka in qualifying and I was ahead today, so let's see what happens."
Gasly is moving up to the main Red Bull team next year, alongside Verstappen, with Russian Daniil Kvyat returning to Toro Rosso as his replacement.
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