Giorgio Ascanelli resigns as Scuderia Toro Rosso technical director

Ascanelli had looked set to quit the Italian outfit ever since he failed to attend the German Grand Prix in July.

Although the team insisted he was just on holiday, AUTOSPORT understood he had got frustrated with the development path the outfit was taking.

Ahead of the Italian GP, Toro Rosso finally confirmed that Ascanelli had resigned - although it said nothing about his likely successor James Key.

Team principal Franz Tost said: "Over a period of almost five years, Giorgio has contributed positively to the development of our team.

"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 added: "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."