F1 News - Azerbaijan GP practice cancelled after bridge incident
https://bbc.in/2GAHmtV First practice at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was cancelled after George Russell's Williams was damaged on a loose manhole cover. The Briton's car caught the edge of the cover between Turns Two and Three and it smashed the floor of his car, which then shut down. The cover appeared to have been loosened by Charles Leclerc's Ferrari. In farcical scenes, the truck bringing Russell's car back to the pits crashed into a bridge over the track. That leaked hydraulic fluid on to Russell's car beneath. Race director Michael Masi soon cancelled the rest of the session, in which only the Ferraris had set lap times, to try to resolve the multiple problems. Masi will have to not only make sure the damaged cover is repaired but also check the remaining covers around the track - and ensure that the bridge that was damaged is structurally sound. There are thought to be 300 manhole covers around the circuit. Russell said: "There was a manhole cover and I got the biggest smack on my body. The engine turned off, it's ruined the floor and the chassis could be ruined." Williams will try to repair Russell's car in time for second practice at 14:00 BST but deputy team principal said there were concerns that the survival cell in which the driver sits could be damaged. "The car has got a lot of damage," Williams said. "We have to wait to see, it's taken the whole underside out and the circuit needs to make sure the covers are down properly and that means we could be out this afternoon because of that. I will be picking it up with race control." Ferrari had gone out early with both cars to try out a major aerodynamic upgrade they have introduced for this weekend. But Leclerc and Vettel were limited to just five and four laps which will give the team some data on the airflow around the car but only very limited information for the drivers in terms of how the new aerodynamics affect the balance of the car. Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, first and second in the championship after three consecutive one-twos at the start of the season, did not even go out for an installation lap. #F1 via BBC Sport - Formula 1 https://bbc.in/OHg7x6 April 26, 2019 at 05:24AM Leave a Reply. |
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4/26/2019
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