George Russell's croaky radio message to his race engineer during the FP1 session showcased the extent of his illness ahead of the Azerbaijan GP. This left fans surprised by how sick the Briton was, as he was also not present in the paddock during the media day to take some rest to ready up for the hectic weekend lined up ahead.Very rarely, F1 drivers take some time off from the racing grid even if they are ill. Usually, they would end up sitting out the initial free practice sessions, as Fernando Alonso did earlier in the year at the Hungarian GP weekend due to his back injury.However, Russell did not opt for such a measure, even though the team's reserve driver, Valtteri Bottas, was present at the race weekend. This led people to believe that the four-time race winner might have made a bit of recovery, but this assumption was soon thrown out the window by his hoarse voice over the radio, as Russell had told his race engineer in a croaky voice:"Serious amount [of] bottoming in the straight."Subsequently, fans shared their reactions to Russell's radio message on social media:"Man. he sounds SO sick on the radio."h ⋆ ⁶³ @russelliusLINKMan. he sounds SO sick on the radio..."I had to rewind and listen again bc I didn't recognize his voice holy crap he sounds awful my poor king," one fan wrote."Omg that’s really him??? I thought his radio just had bad connection 😭😭," another fan wrote.Fans further added how they didn't believe it was George Russell at first, because his voice sounded entirely different than usual:"I didn't believe at first it was Russell.😭," one netizen wrote."Russell sounds so sick jeez," another netizen wrote."George Russell sounds so sick on his radio this fp1 cannot be worth it," a third netizen shared.Meanwhile, Russell has had solid results at the Baku street circuit since the introduction of the ground-effect era of regulations in 2022, claiming two podiums in his past three visits.George Russell is sporting a special helmet for the Azerbaijan GPGeorge Russell during the FP1 session for the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan - Source: GettyGeorge Russell finished the first practice session around the streets of Azerbaijan fourth-fastest in the timing ladder. While his Mercedes 16 sported the usual livery, his helmet decal was a little different.Though the blue color was retained, his helmet was donned with a new paint scheme that included marine biology, as he recently became an ambassador for Blue Marine Foundation. Talking about his helmet, Russell shared on X:"Baku SE Helmet!! 🌊🐠 Excited to reveal my special edition helmet designed in collaboration with @Bluemarinef . As their ambassador, and as someone who adores being in the water, this one has a special place in my heart 🩵"Russell has an average finish of 7.25 around the streets of Baku whenever he has taken the chequered flag around the fabled circuit. The 27-year-old would be aiming to improve upon this statistic by continuing his streak of finishing inside the top five since the Belgian GP.