George Russell described today as “a tough day” after his Free Practice 1 incident ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Williams Racing driver suffered a freak accident in the morning session when a manhole came up and destroyed the FW42 chassis.
Russell was forced to sit out of Free Practice 2 meaning his first proper running of the weekend won’t be until Free Practice 3 on Saturday morning.
The British driver felt it was a shame for the mechanics that he was only able to complete a couple of laps.
“It has been a tough day, it’s a shame for the guys to spend yesterday preparing the car to only do a couple of laps.
“I was going down the straight and I felt a big bang through the chassis and everything turned off; it’s just unfortunate.”
With no running, Russell has no data to go on and he says he will have to rely on team-mate Robert Kubica.
“The plan right now is to go into debrief, listen to Robert’s comments and see what the guys have planned for tomorrow.”
Russell wants to say positive ahead of what could be an even more challenging weekend at the Baku City Circuit.
“Overall, today has been a bit of a frustration, but we must make the most of the situation and I will remain positive for the weekend ahead.”
