Claire Williams: “It’s simply not acceptable”
Claire Williams reflected on the issue that affected George Russell during the first free practice session of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, calling the incident unacceptable.
A few minutes after the start of the first practice session of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, George Russell, in one of his first laps on track, had to stop his Williams immediately after a manhole cover came loose from the track and pierced the floor of his FW42.
A very rare incident that forced the Race Direction to simply cancel the session to ensure that the safety conditions on the track were respected.
But the consequences for the Williams team could be much more significant according to Claire Williams, outraged by this incident, speaking to the BBC: « The circuit must ensure that the manhole covers are properly bolted down. It is simply not acceptable. The damage it can cause could put us in difficulty this afternoon. We may need another chassis. That’s not how Formula 1 tracks should be. »
The Williams team is clearly in financial difficulty for several months now, especially this year where the number of spare parts for its cars is very limited. This accident does not help the team’s situation: I think there will inevitably be a lot of damage. You can see on TV that everything came apart. This does not help us at the moment. Claire Williams explained after giving news of the unfortunate George Russell, who got out of his car without any problems: I haven’t spoken with George yet, he looks fine from what I can see.
🛑🏎️ La séance est interrompue pour vérifier la sécurité de la piste après un problème de plaque d’égout 🛑#AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 #F1 pic.twitter.com/2aqkafmmMO
— La F1® sur CANAL (@LaF1SurCanal) 26 avril 2019
