Williams’ George Russell says a crash at the pit-entry was the reason why he lost his front wing before the Turkish GP.
Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi was the first driver to demonstrate how wet the Istanbul Park circuit was after he slid off and got beached in the gravel during his parade lap to the grid.
Not long after that cameras showed Russell returning to the pit lane with a shattered front wing.
Both he and team-mate Nicholas Latifi started from the pit lane by choice, though it didn’t do them much good with Russell crossing the line last of the runners in P16, while Latifi got tired of spinning with damage and retired his FW43.
Russell later revealed that he had lost his front wing after crashing at the pit entry.
“We made the decision to start from the pit lane, which was always the intention. On the laps to grid I knocked the front wing off at the pit entry, but the guys did a great job to get the car fixed,” he told the Williams website.
“The race itself was very tricky in the opening stages, but then we found ourselves in P11 and it was looking really promising, the car and tyres were feeling good.
“From then, the tyres dropped off, so we boxed for another set of intermediates which didn’t work. None of us were able to push the car to the limit, slipping and sliding around.
“This weekend wasn’t a lot of fun which is a shame as it is a fantastic circuit and we didn’t get the opportunity to fully appreciate it.”
The chequered flag at Istanbul Park.#TurkishGP ?? | #WeAreWilliams ? pic.twitter.com/KEayyOCk4S
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) November 15, 2020
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Latifi said contact with Romain Grosjean was the ultimate cause of his retirement, while his mirrors were so dirty that he couldn’t see anything in them.
“We had some damage on the car after contact with Romain Grosjean, so we decided to retire,” he explained.
“I was getting lapped, but my mirrors were so dirty that I literally couldn’t see behind me. I knew I had to move over but it was difficult to judge where they were.
“There was no grip out there and therefore you can’t generate tyre temperature, so with the damage on the car, there was no point staying out. There was no part of the race that was enjoyable for me and overall, it was a weekend to forget.”
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