Both Scuderia Toro Rosso drivers look set to take more grid penalties this weekend at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, with both Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley set to start at the back of the grid for Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix.
Hartley’s new engine failed during the Mexican Grand Prix which will necessitate another engine change this weekend, and although Gasly saw the chequered flag at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez two weeks ago, his whole weekend was blighted by engine problems.
For Hartley, that means his third Grand Prix weekend will see him have his third grid penalty following similar penalties, while Gasly admits that it will make it a tough weekend for Toro Rosso to start at the back of the field once more.
“It is not confirmed yet, but it looks like it,” said Gasly on Autosport. “It looks like we will have to start from the back of the grid, which makes it of course pretty difficult.
“But it is something we cannot really change. We have to accept it if we take it. It doesn’t change the target in the end, it just makes it a bit tougher.”
Gasly admits that whilst penalties for engine changes are part and parcel of modern day Formula 1, it is still a shock to the system for him to adapt to coming from the junior ranks, with the 2016 GP2 Series champion admitting it is difficult to accept the kind of penalties coming his way.
“It is something I was never used to having in the lower series,” said Gasly. “There, when you qualify in a certain position, you are sure to start in that position.
“But here, sometimes, even if I did not do qualifying in Mexico, we knew already that unless we qualified in the top three we would be starting from the back of the grid.
“It is something that is a bit difficult to accept, but that is the way it works.”
