Pierre Gasly has admitted that Toro Rosso has suffered since the departure of technical director James Key. The former Toro Rosso man left the team midway through the 2018 season after McLaren announced it has signed him.
Although Key has not yet started at McLaren due to being placed on an unannounced length of gardening leave due to his contract with Toro Rosso meant to run until 2020, Gasly conceded that the team has struggled since his departure.
“We haven’t really had any updates on the car since Melbourne, or the really small one we had in Monaco, and the one in Austria which didn’t work,” Gasly said at Suzuka. “So we have the same car that started the season really.
“Clearly we start to feel it because recently we’ve been struggling to get close to the top 10 because other teams are improving and we are not.
“For sure in a way you could say that it’s clearly missing and if you lose a technical director it always has an impact on the instant performance. It’s not an ideal situation.”
No replacement has been named since Key left the team meaning updates are unlikely to be brought to the car until next season. After an initial boost earlier in the season with their planned updates working, the Toro Rosso team looks set to stay where they are in their fight with Sauber for eighth in the constructor standings.