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WATCH: Horror crash involving F1 rookie Zhou Guanyu forces restart of British Grand Prix
Zhou had started ninth on the grid before becoming an innocent bystander in an accident involving Pierre Gasly and George Russell.
Screengrab of the Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu flipped upside down moments after the start of the British Grand Prix. Image: SuperSport on Twitter
Alfa Romeo Formula 1 driver, Zhou Guanyu, has escaped potential serious injuries after being involved in a horror accident that led to the delay of this afternoon’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Starting ninth on the grid, the third placed finisher in last year’s Formula 2 feeder series found himself on the inside, and in the wrong place, a few hundred metres from the start of the race that has subsequently been restarted.
Horrific crash for Zhou Guanyu ????
— SuperSport ???? (@SuperSportTV) July 3, 2022
We’re just glad he’s okay and wish him a speedy recovery ????#BritishGP pic.twitter.com/5xfDBosn3R
As the field headed into turn one, the Chinese driver’s car got hit by the Mercedes of George Russell, who had tried to back out of a sandwich scenario with the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly.
It was, however, a reaction too late as on-board footage showed Russell ever so slightly inching towards the left of the AlphaTauri, before his left rear wheel came into contact with the right front of the Frenchman’s car.
Out of control as the rear wheel went flat, the spinning Mercedes then clipped the rear the wheel of the Alfa Romeo, which flipped onto its side and then upside down as the field prepared to turn right into the first corner.
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Skidding across the run-off on the rollover bar and halo, the car vaulted across the tyre barrier before becoming wedged between it and the fencing that separates the grandstand from the track.
The aftermath triggered a secondary accident in which a decelerating Williams of Alex Albon got pushed into the pitlane wall by the Aston Martin of four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.
Albon, who had applied the brakes to avoid slamming into the back of the second Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas in front of him, then ricocheted into path of the second AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda, who in-turn clobbered the Alpine of Esteban Ocon.
The race was red flagged as attention focused on extracting Zhou from what as deemed a tricky area given the position of how his car had come to rest.
In a statement on twitter after his extrication, Alfa Romeo stated that that the sport’s first-ever Chinese driver is conscious and taken to the medical centre for evaluation.
Williams meanwhile has confirmed that Albon, who had impacted the pit wall almost head-on, had been taken to a hospital in Coventry for “precautionary checks”.
