George Russell

"It's not going to be his last attempt to win a race, it's just the beginning of a fairytale that didn't work out today," Wolff told Sky Sports after congratulating and commiserating in equal measure. Esteban Ocon, the 24-year-old Frenchman who was a Mercedes young driver before moving to Renault, finished second in Sunday's race with 22-year-old Canadian Lance Stroll third for Racing Point.

Giovinazzi was ahead of Russell when his car snapped out of control at the exit of the Spa-Francorchamps track's fast Fagnes chicane. It hit the barriers, shedding the wheel that Russell hit, before rebounding across the track.

George Russell was first on track for the start of pre-season testing on Wednesday and sounded positive afterwards as his Williams Formula One team set about banishing the ghosts of a dire 2019 campaign. This time last year the struggling former champions did not have a car to test, finally turning up at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya three days late. Russell, a rookie last year, indicated that one morning had already gone a long way to restoring his confidence.

Rookie George Russell hits dislodged manhole in Azerbaijan GP practice.