F1 British Grand Prix: Zhou involved in frightening crash

SILVERSTONE, England –

Zhou Guanyu was concerned in a daunting first-lap crash Sunday that introduced the British Grand Prix to a right away halt as security crews attended to the one Chinese language driver in Formulation One.

Zhou’s automobile slid upside-down throughout the gravel and his Alfa Romeo appeared to be wedged between fencing and a tire barrier on the first nook. The race was red-flagged and George Russell, one of many drivers concerned within the crash, sprinted from his automobile to the tire barrier to test on Zhou.

Zhou was taken to the monitor’s medical centre for statement and credited the head-protecting “halo” gadget on the vehicles for shielding him.

“I am okay, all clear. Halo saved me right this moment. Thanks everybody to your variety messages!” he wrote on Twitter.

Alex Albon of Williams was additionally taken to the medical centre after which his staff mentioned he’d been transferred by helicopter to Coventry Hospital for a precautionary test. Albon had spun into the pit wall after being struck by Sebastian Vettel from behind as drivers tried to keep away from the incident involving Zhou.

Russell gave the impression to be hit from behind firstly and was knocked into Zhou, whose automobile went flying throughout a gravel lure and over a tire wall into the retaining fence. The automobile was skidding on the “halo,” then went airborne. It was caught between the tire wall and the fence, delaying efforts to extricate Zhou.

Russell, who ran from his automobile to assist Zhou, known as it “one of many scariest crashes I’ve ever seen.”

Russell was declared out of the race by the FIA as a result of his Mercedes was loaded onto a truck to be taken again to pit lane whereas he was checking on Zhou. Mercedes protested the decision, however the FIA didn’t budge.

The drivers returned to the pits to await a restart.

After the race was stopped, “a number of individuals tried to enter the monitor,” F1 mentioned in a press release. “These individuals had been instantly eliminated and the matter is now being handled by the native authorities.”

Native police had warned Friday spectators would possibly enter the monitor as a part of a protest. An environmental group known as Simply Cease Oil mentioned that 5 of its activists had entered the monitor and sat down.

The group additionally tried to disrupt some Premier League soccer video games in England in current months. Simply Cease Oil named a type of on the monitor at Silverstone on Sunday as a protestor who additionally hooked up himself to a objective put up at a sport in March between Everton and Newcastle.

The “halo” gadget across the cockpit performed a outstanding function earlier Sunday in a Formulation Two race at Silverstone when Dennis Hauger’s automobile landed on prime of rival Roy Nissany’s automobile. The incident was paying homage to a crash in F1 involving Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton on the Italian Grand Prix final yr.