Officials from the Baku City Circuit have confirmed that an "undetectable problem" was to blame for causing a manhole cover to come loose during opening practice forও the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Friday, ultimately leading to the session's cancellation.

George Russell ran over the loose manhole cover on the run to Turn 3 early in FP1 on Friday, cracking the chassis of his Williams FW42 car in an incident that has ruled the Briton out of r🍌unning until Saturday morไning.

FP1 was then abandoned due to the incident so that organisers could complete safety check🌱s, with more than 300 manhol💛e covers to review around the 6km circuit.

The Baku City Circuit issued a short statement on Twitter on Friday after💜noon confirming the checks had been completed, as well as explaining the cause of the issue.

"FP1 was unfortunately cancelled due to a loose manhole cover. Although all safety and regulatory checks had been put in place beforehand,ඣ the resulting issue was caused due an undetectable problem beneath tꦿhe fitting that only became apparent this afternoon," the circuit said.

"We have coordinated with FIA to secur💖e a replacement cover and to check all other manholes on the circuit before racing can resume. Driver safety is always paramount and our main priority. With over 300 manholes on the circuit, this process will take some time."

Track action💙 in Baku resumed with Formula 2 qualifying, which 🌳was delayed by 30 minutes to 12:30pm BST.

Second F1💧 prac🔯tice is set to take place at 2pm BST.