Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley is set to start the French Grand Prix from the back of the grid after taking on a fresh power unit.
Hartley suffered an engine problem during the closing stages of Friday’s second practice session at Paul Ricard, with his STR13 coming to a halt on track.
Toro Rosso power unit supplier Honda confirmed on Saturday morning that a new power unit has been fitted to Hartley’s car ahead of the third practice session.
Hartley has taken on his fourth Internal Combustion Engine, Turbocharger and MGU-H, and his third MGU-K, Energy Store and Control Electronics, exceeding his season allocation.
Under the old system of penalties, it would have meant a 35-place drop, but as the figure is now capped at 15 positions, under tweaked regulations, it means Hartley will be mandated to start from the rear of the field.
“We have now sent it back to Japan for further investigation,” Honda confirmed, referring to Hartley’s stricken power unit.
“We have changed all six components last night, therefore Brendon will start from the back of the grid because of the penalties we incurred.
The PU specification we’ll be running today is the latest one – the same as yesterday and also the Canadian GP.
“We hope to have a good race with Brendon and try to work our way forward.”
