Toro Rosso has rejected Renault's recent claims that its sudden bout of engine failures are a car specific issue as opposed to a problem on the French manufacturer's part.
After a number of power unit problems in Mexico, Toro Rosso's recent struggles continued into practice for this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix, with Pierre Gasly suffering from an MGU-H failure while Brendon Hartley stopped out on track with smoke bellowing out of the back of his STR12.
These failures will result in a 10-place grid penalty for Hartley while Gasly will be demoted by 25 places, guaranteeing that he will start at the back of the grid for the penultimate round of the 2017 season.
As a response to this, Cyril Abiteboul took to the press, suggesting that Toro Rosso's issues may be car related as opposed to supplier related but the Faenza-based outfit has since hit back.
"Due to recent accusations made in the media from the team’s engine supplier, Toro Rosso wishes to clarify the actual situation regarding the power units," read a statement issued by the team.
"It comes as a big surprise to the team that Cyril Abiteboul has suggested to the media that the problems Toro Rosso suffers with the power unit are primarily team related, and the way in which the power unit is operated in the STR12 chassis.
"We would like to clarify that all the MGU-H and Shaft failures Toro Rosso has recently suffered are not associated with how the team is operating or with how the PU is integrated in the chassis.
"Nothing has been changed or altered in this installation during the 2017 season, other than cooling improvements mid-season. Since the summer break Toro Rosso has suffered continuous power unit related failures, and the resulting grid penalties has cost the team points and relative positions in the Constructors’ championship.
"One of the primary reasons for the issues we are seeing is the lack of new power unit parts available. In Toro Rosso’s case the team is constantly having to change parts from one PU to another during the weekend and, on many occasions, is forced to run old specification assemblies.
"The last race in Mexico saw only two cars out of six finish the race, highlighting the poor reliability.
"We mustn’t forget that they are fighting with Toro Rosso for a better position in the Constructors’ championship, as suggested by Mr Abiteboul the situation may not be a coincidence, but it is certainly not due to STR’s car"
Beyond 2017, Toro Rosso will no longer use Renault power and will instead switch to Honda as its engine supplier while McLaren will partner with the French manufacturer for the first time in its long history.
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