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Ascanelli resigns from Toro Rosso

Giorgio Ascanelli was reportedly unhappy with the development direction taken by Toro Rosso © Sutton Images

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Technical director Giorgio Ascanelli has resigned from Toro Rosso, the team has confirmed.

Ascanelli had been conspicuous by his absence from the team at races since the German Grand Prix in July, with Toro Rosso claiming he had gone on holiday. It has now been formally confirmed that Ascanelli has resigned from his post, and team principal Franz Tost paid tribute to the work he had done in helping the team expand.

"Over a period of almost five years, Giorgio has contributed positively to the development of our team," Tost said. "Especially in the difficult transition period from a simple racing team to a fully-fledged constructor he made an important contribution and his undoubted experience was very valuable to us. We would like to thank him for his efforts and wish him all the best for the future."

Ascanelli said that he felt the team was in position to move forward after what he described as an "intense and interesting time" working for Toro Rosso.

"I've enjoyed the past years working at Scuderia Toro Rosso," Ascanelli said. "It has been a very intense and interesting time, in which we had to manage the transition from a small team to a much larger one, and everybody has put a lot of effort to bring us where we are today. We have sown the seeds for a successful future and I think the team challenge is now to gain a stable presence in the upper mid-field and I wish all at Toro Rosso the very best for the future."

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