Toro Rosso's participation in Abu Dhabi GP in doubt

Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley's engine woes and a lack of spare parts means Toro Rosso's participation in the last GP of the season in Abu Dhabi has been put in doubt.

In Friday's practice sessions Gasly and Hartley, as well as Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull, suffered major engine failures. Hartley's car had a broken engine pump while Gasly bemoaned another faulty MGU-H, taking their tallies for replacements for the season to eight overall.

Renault is the provider of Toro Rosso engines and it is believed that they currently have enough spare parts to accommodate the constructor throughout qualifying and the GP on Sunday.

However, according to Auto motor und sport.de, in Toro Rosso's case parts have been exchanged between the vehicles to the point where there are no new components available at all. If another MGU-H were to malfunction, Toro Rosso may find themselves in a position where they are unable to compete in Abu Dhabi.

Helmut Marko, adviser to Red Bull and Toro Rosso, expressed concern about the situation and gave criticism to the old parts currently being used.

"At Toro Rosso, it looks like a spare parts store for vintage cars,” he said.

Renault have expressed concern at the situation, with Managing Director Cyril Abiteboul stating that creating more parts in the time period before Abu Dhabi is simply not possible.

"These components require a much longer lead time, which you cannot build in two weeks," said Abiteboul.

Both Gasly and Hartley will start from the back of the grid in Sunday's Grand Prix at Interlagos.