Raikkonen annoyed by Baku track issues: 'We looked like amateurs'
Kimi Raikkonen was lef𓄧t unhappy after a loose manhole cover resulted in opening practice for the Azer💞baijan Grand Prix being abandoned, saying the Formula 1 paddock “looked like amateurs” on Friday in Baku.
FP1 was r🔴ed-flagged with less than 15 minutes of the session complete after Williams’ George Russell ran over the loose manhole cover and damaged hi🐈s car, cracking the chassis of his FW42.
The remainder of the session was scrapped so safe🍒ty chec🐼ks could take place around the track, with more than 300 manhole covers requiring review.

Kimi Raikkonen was left 🎃unhappy after a loose manhole cover resulted in op🍌ening practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix being abandoned, saying the Formula 1 paddock “looked like amateurs” on Friday in Baku.
FP1 was red-flagged with less than 15 minutes of the session complete💧 after Williams’ George Russell ran over the loose manhole cover and damaged h✃is car, cracking the chassis of his FW42.
The remainder of the session was scrapped so safety checks could take place around the track, with more than 300 manhole covers requiring reviewཧ.
Raikkonen expressed hꦅis annoyance at the issue followin💝g second practice, having lost half of his allocated running for the day as a result.
“Obviously it was far from ideal for e𝐆verybody, and we looked like amateurs here today,” Raikkonen said.
“It’s up to the FIA to make sure the track is as best as poss💧ible. But it seems that every year, somewhere a drain cover comes loose or something flies off.
“They say they welded the drain covers, but obviously that one was far from welded today. It’s 🐬up to them to go 🐻and check them all, there’s plenty of people here, but the same thing has happened before here.
“Luckily nobody got hurt, but it obviously destroyed everybody’s day🦂, plus for the people who came here to watch the practice.
“It’s far from ideal.”
Raikkonen finished FP2 14th in the final standings, but said it was imp𒉰ossible to properly say where Alfa Romeo stood in the pecking order.
“It w🎐as a confusing day for everyone,” Raikkonen said.
“It didn’t feel 💧too bad. I think we managed to make the tyres work🔴.”
Additional reporting by Julianne Cerasoli.