Practice 1 had to be cancelled at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after George Russell hit a loose drain cover.
The Briton was travelling on the back straight between Turns 2 and 3 when the front of the undertray would hit the cover which had been lifted by Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari just before.
Russell would immediately stop the car with damage appearing to be pretty extensive to the floor of the Williams possibly even reaching elements of the power unit.
“I just hit it, the biggest shock went through my body,” he commented.
“The whole engine just turned off, it’s ruined the floor. It was just on the normal racing line and has ruined my session. Not what we need at this stage but just one of those things.”
More comical would be the recovery as the truck hit a bridge on the return to the pits, damaging the hydraulics and leaking fluid all over the car.
That would require a second vehicle to be brought in to lift the Williams off the back.
Work then began to reweld the drain cover back in place and check the rest of the circuit meaning the race officials opted to cancel the session with just over an hour on the clock.
As for times, Leclerc and teammate Sebastian Vettel would be the only drivers to complete a timed lap as they tried to conduct some early running with the upgrades Ferrari has brought for this weekend.
Most would complete an installation lap with others not getting out at all.