F1 British Grand Prix: Zhou Guanyu avoids major injury after terrifying crash
The British Grand Prix was red flagged after one lap on Sunday due to a multi-car crash that saw Zhou Guanyu and his Alfa Romeo roll over, slam into a wall upside down and nearly flip into the crowd.
Here's footage of the crash from Pierre Gasly's onboard camera. Zhou's car is the red and white one on the left side. The car that crashed into Zhou's belonged to George Russell.
In the videos below, you can see how far Zhou's overturned car skidded before it slammed into the wall, and how close it was to flipping into a crowd of spectators.
Today was a reminder that F1 remains a high-speed, high-risk sport that is always right on the edge.
We are so thankful to the advances in safety that mean both Zhou Guanyu and Alex Albon are safe and well. pic.twitter.com/BJ8PPDG2av— Formula 1 (@F1) July 3, 2022
I hope Zhou is okay after that crash it was worse than it looked #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/RI0Z1WQ7AU
— Tanya 🧚🏾♀️ (@Taaaanxo) July 3, 2022
Huge smash at @SilverstoneUK hoping the driver is okay. Was a scary incident #F1 #SilverstoneGP pic.twitter.com/oCzXOct1iX
— The Sausage Kerb (@thesausagekerb) July 3, 2022
Russell was able to exit his car and immediately went to check on Zhou. Emergency crews responded right away, and extracted Zhou before taking him to the medical center on a stretcher. Williams driver Alex Albon was also taken to the medical center after a separate yet related incident that happened after Albon hit the brakes due to the Zhou/Russell crash. According to ESPN, Sebastian Vettel rammed into the back of Albon's car, which then went into the pit wall before crashing into two other cars back on the track.
Both Zhou and Albon were conscious after being taken to the medical center. Alfa Romeo tweeted that Zhou avoided major injury and was staying there for observation.
Update: Following his crash, Zhou underwent checks in the medical centre. There were no major injuries. He remains under observation in the medical centre.
— Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN (@alfaromeoorlen) July 3, 2022
Albon was airlifted to a nearby hospital for further evaluation.
Alex has been transferred by helicopter to Coventry Hospital for precautionary checks following the opening lap incident. We will provide updates when available.#WeAreWilliams
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) July 3, 2022
The race was restarted, but Russell was unfortunately ruled out of the race after exiting his car due to FIA rules, ending his streak of top-five finishes.