Fan footage just yards away from horror British GP crash emerges
An incredible fans’ view of Zhou Guanyu’s horrifying British Grand Prix smash has emerged on social media.
The Chinese driver was involved in one of the most spectacular shunts in recent F1 history at Silverstone. Following a rapid getaway, Zhou was tagged by the slow-starting Mercedes of George Russell and immediately flipped upside-down.
His Alfa Romeo then skated off the circuit and across the gravel trap at high speed. Just before he reached the tyre wall, the car dug in and flipped over, slamming bottom first into the security fence, just metres from shocked fans as marshals and photographers dived for cover. Footage of the crash was filmed by fans in the stand nearby and demonstrated how lucky he was to escape serious injury.
Zhou was trapped in his car for several minutes, prompting fears he was seriously injured or worse. But thankfully, he was extracted from the car conscious and taken to the medical centre to be assessed. He was soon declared fit and well and was seen walking around the paddock before the end of the race, which had to be restarted following the epic shunt.
Zhou was in no doubt that the halo saved his life, tweeting: “I’m ok, all clear. Halo saved me today. Thanks everyone for your kind messages!”
The halo is a crash protection device which was only introduced in 2018. It prompted much debate at the time, with some traditionalists insisting it made the cars look ugly.
What did you think of the British Grand Prix? Have your say in the comments section below.
However, opinion is now very much in favour, with the halo credited for saving a number of lives in recent years, including Romain Grosjean, who survived a fiery crash in Bahrain in 2020 after his Haas careered off the track and pierced the steel barrier.
And just a few hours before Zhou’s shunt, there was an awful Formula 2 crash which saw Roy Nissany’s car T-boned by Dennis Hauger. Both drivers escaped unharmed. Nissany was adjudged to have caused the smash after running Hauger off the track and has been hit with a grid penalty for the next round in Austria.
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