Complete power unit change for Toro Rosso after Friday failure
Saturday 23 June 2018 11:06, UK
Toro Rosso's Brendon Hartley is set to start at the back of Sunday's French GP grid after Honda were forced to change his car's power unit.
Hartley's STR13 stopped on track during second practice on Friday and the New Zealander told reporters on Friday night that he feared a grid drop.
That penalty was duly confirmed on Saturday morning with Honda changing all six elements of the power unit. As Hartley was already up to the penalty-free limit in all areas, he racks up a penalty in excess of 30 places.
That will lock him into starting last on the 20-car grid unless as driver fails to set a time in Q1.
The engine penalty for the Toro Rosso, the team's second in as many grands prix with their new-spec engine, comes in the same week senior team Red Bull signed a two-year deal to switch to Honda engines in 2019.
Hartley's team-mate Pierre Gasly was 10th quickest in Practice Two on Friday as the team to build on the performance improvements Honda's new units are believed to have brought.
Will it be Mercedes, Ferrari or Red Bull on top as F1 returns to Paul Ricard for the first leg of an unprecedented triple header? Watch the French GP exclusively live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend. Get Sky Sports F1.
