F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Honda: Toro Rosso engine issues won't impact weekend

Honda F1 technical director Toyoharu Tanabe says the double-trouble that hit Toro Rosso in FP2 - with engine issues for both Pierre Gasly and Dany Kvyat - won't have a bearing on the team's Brazilian Grand Prix weekend.

Gasly's engine expired in the afternoon session, a failure that was followed shortly after by an incident that saw Kvyat veer off course and crash as the result of a sudden power unit shutdown.

Tanabe insisted however that both drivers were running high-mileage Friday units.

Honda wants 'clean, fair race' under F1 engine regulations

"Towards the end of the session, the ICE on Gasly’s car failed and then Kvyat crashed due to a complete shutdown and with the team, we are now investigating the cause of both these problems," explained the Honda engineer.

"However, they have no effect on the rest of the weekend from a PU point of view, as both of them were running 'Friday only' PUs, due to be changed tonight."

While annoyed by his engine failure as it robbed him of track time, Gasly admitted the breakdown was hardly a surprise.

"A smoky engine is never great," said the Frenchman.

"It was Friday's engine, this one had quite a lot of mileage. Already with all the races earlier in the season and the Fridays we've done.

"We knew this could happen at some point so it just blew up towards the end of the session. We lost a bit of track time and some laps on the long run.

"It's not ideal but we knew that it would happen at some point."

©ToroRosso

Kvyat said his session had been unfolding in a positive way until his forced late exit.

"We had a productive session until the moment when the car switched itself off," the Russian said.

"We now need to find out what the problem was, but until then I think it was a solid session.

"We understood the track well and the requirements needed for tomorrow to go faster, so we will work hard overnight and try to improve tomorrow."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.