Zhou escapes serious injury after massive British GP crash
Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu is conscious and has been taken to the Silverstone medical centre for further evaluation following a first corner accident at Formula 1's British Grand Prix.
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Zhou, who had started ninth, was tipped over on the run down to the opening Abbey turn, and launched through the gravel trap towards the barriers.
There was no immediate information regarding the condition of Zhou, although medical crews were quickly on the scene to attend to him.
The crash was triggered by contact between George Russell and Pierre Gasly on the run away from the start. The Mercedes spun into Zhou on the left, who then rolled over and slid on the car's halo all the way to the catch fencing.
Russell later stopped at the first corner with his left rear tyre having been detached from the wheel.
Further back, there was a separate incident as the Williams of Alex Albon was pitched right in to the pit wall after being hit from behind by the Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel.
Albon's damaged car was then struck by other cars as it spun to the outside, with Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon being caught up in the melee.
FIA race direction has since confirmed both Zhou and Albon have been taken to the medical centre for precautionary checks.
Alfa Romeo said "Zhou is conscious, he is talking, there are no fractures. Considering the circumstances, he is pretty good, pretty well."
A rear view of the crash at the first start. Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo C42, George Russell, Mercedes W13, Esteban Ocon, Alpine A522, Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri AT03 and Alex Albon, Williams FW44 are involved
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
"The FIA advises that following the incident at the start of the race, emergency crews were immediately in attendance, and the drivers of Car 23 (Albon) and Car 24 (Zhou) have been taken to the medical centre," a statement read.
"Both drivers were conscious and will be evaluated at the medical centre. Further updates will be given in due course."
Further around the track, images appeared of protesters having invaded the track on the Wellington Track on the first lap following threats ahead of the weekend that they would do so.
A statement from F1 said: "We can confirm that after the red flag, several people attempted to enter the track.
"These people were immediately removed and the matter is now being dealt with by the local authorities."
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
The F1 hero-to-zero dividing line that has never been so thin
Why Audi and Verstappen have complicated Formula 1’s driver market decisions
‘Metronomic’ Verstappen may rule F1, but it won’t last forever - Horner
Quartararo: Yamaha MotoGP satellite team "must be an extension of the factory"
Pedrosa says 'unexpected' MotoGP return pushed by "interesting" testing data
Lamborghini not concerned over Le Mans reliability despite rain-interrupted test
The F1 hero-to-zero dividing line that has never been so thin
The F1 hero-to-zero dividing line that has never been so thin
How Stroll and Magnussen revealed the scale of F1’s racing and rules problems
Did F1's new sprint format work?
Chinese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2024
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments