George Russell is to receive a new chassis in the wake of the incident that caused the opening practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix to be abandoned.
Russell struck a loose drain cover on the back straight between Turns 2 and 3, with the impact causing substantial damage to his Williams FW42.
The incident resulted in the remainder of FP1 being cancelled – with barely any action having taken place – while it is still uncertain as to whether the rest of the day’s action will take place as usual.
Formula 2’s qualifying session – scheduled for 15:00 local time – has been postponed.
“George’s car will require a chassis change due to the damage caused by the loose drain cover,” Williams confirmed.
“Therefore due to regulations he will not be able to run until FP3 tomorrow.”
Russell's predicament was accentuated by the recovery truck upon which his car was placed striking a bridge as it returned to the pit lane.
