(CNN) A Formula One practice session at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was abandoned Friday after George Russell of Williams drove over a dislodged manhole cover, damaging his car and causing debris to scatter dramatically across the track.

Footage of the incident, which took place 12 minutes into the first free practice session of the day, showed sparks flying before an array of material appeared to fly out of the back of Russell's vehicle.

The manhole cover became loose after the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc drove over it earlier in the session, according to the official F1 website.

Russell was not injured in the incident but his car appeared to suffer severe damage and was towed back to the pit lane.

A look at the incident that brought first practice to a premature end in Baku 👀#AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 #F1 pic.twitter.com/VikJY5ts4M — Formula 1 (@F1) April 26, 2019

Race officials decided to end the session as track repairs were carried out, the F1 site reported.

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