‘Miracle halo saved my life’
Alfa Romeo’s rookie driver survives horror crash at British Grand Prix
Rookie Formula One driver Zhou Guanyu last night hailed the “halo” for saving his life after the overhead safety device twice prevented horror at a packed Silverstone.
The British Grand Prix was brought to a halt in chaotic scenes as Zhou ploughed over a tyre barrier upside down, shortly before a dangerous track invasion by oil-use protesters. Seven arrests were made over the demonstration, but Lewis Hamilton, who finished third, initially declined to condemn the stunt, instead saying “big up those guys” for “fighting for the planet”. However, the Briton later claimed he was unaware the protesters had rushed the track. “Please don’t jump on to our race circuits,” he said in a statement last night.
Formula One and Silverstone organisers were left breathing a major sigh of relief that both Zhou and Formula Two driver Roy Nissany – who also had a death-defying crash – left the circuit without even a bruise.
Zhou, the Chinese driver whose Alfa Romeo flipped over, spun countless times and eventually careered into a gap between the tyre barrier and catch fence.
Other drivers thanked 2017 safety improvements by governing body the FIA. “I’m OK, all clear,” Zhou wrote on social media. “Halo saved me today. Thanks everyone for your kind messages.” After the race got under way, Carlos Sainz Jnr fought his way past Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc in a brilliant 10-lap shoot-out to claim his maiden F1 win. Sergio Perez finished second, and all three men on the podium – as well as George Russell, whose Mercedes had come into contact with Zhou – expressed relief that the day had passed without serious casualties. “It was incredible, the crash,” Sainz said.
“The fact he [Zhou] came out of it is crazy. We sometimes criticise the FIA, but you have to give it to them how much they have helped us.”
He said the F2 crash, in which Dennis Hauger’s vehicle landed on top of Nissany’s cockpit, could have been equally deadly.
“Today, the FIA has saved two lives, and we need to give it to them for the amazing work they are doing in safety,” Sainz said.
Footage shared by spectators at the sold-out venue showed some fans running to escape potential harm as Zhou’s car skidded upside
down along the gravel and towards the fence in front of them.
Zhou, who had started ninth, was tipped over on the gravel after Pierre Gasly got sandwiched between the Alfa Romeo on his left and Russell on the right at the run down to turn one. The red flag went up immediately before at least five trespassers in orange T-shirts ran on the track at the Wellington Straight and sat down. They were removed in seconds, with spectators looking on and jeering the disruption caused by the protesters involved.
Hamilton was not immediately aware of the cause behind the demonstration but, when he later asked journalists where they were from, said: “Big up those guys.” When asked to elaborate, the seven-time champion added: “I just said, big up the protesters. I love that people are fighting for the planet and we need more people like them.”
Sainz, however, said: “People have the opportunity to speak out because it is their right but I don’t believe jumping into a Formula One track is the best way to do it. You could get killed.”
Just Stop Oil, the Extinction Rebellion-linked group that recently targeted Premier League football matches, said its supporters had staged the protest.
Confirming the seven arrests, Chief Insp Tom Thompson, the Northamptonshire Police event commander, said: “I’m disappointed that this group of people ignored our warnings prior to race-day and made the incredibly dangerous decision to enter the track.
“We offered to facilitate a peace
ful event at the circuit, but they chose to put the lives of the drivers, marshals and volunteers at risk.”
Zhou’s crash was the worst in several years in F1. In 2018, an FIA investigation into a Belgian Grand Prix start crash concluded the halo also saved Leclerc from being hit on the visor by Fernando Alonso’s endplate.
Russell later expressed relief at Zhou’s escape, as he said Mercedes had made a mistake in starting him on hard tyres. “There was just no grip,” he told Sky Sports. “Firstly I’m glad to see Zhou is OK. Ultimately we took a risk starting on the hard because I made a mistake in qualifying and we were starting out of position.” The crash caused a 53-minute delay to the race and Russell was not permitted to restart.
A record crowd of 142,000 fans watched the most enthralling race of the season. Sainz, Perez and Hamilton all took on fresh tyres ahead of the safety-car restart, but Ferrari left Leclerc out on old rubber and he was left in no-man’s land, dropping from first to fourth, and dealing his title hopes a blow on a day when Max Verstappen limped home in seventh after a puncture and damage to his Red Bull bodywork.
Zhou was approaching the 160mph opening Abbey corner when Russell tagged the right rear of the Chinese driver’s machine, sending him on to his roof.
Sainz said of safety improvements: “I feel so happy to be racing in Formula One where we are pushing at 200mph. You guys cannot imagine the speed we are doing, changing direction, and knowing we can do it safely. I thank them for this and I love the sport for that.”
Perez added: “It has been a while since we have seen an accident like that. It is hard to see it and then delete it from your mind and try to focus. When you hear people talking about a driver salary cap, we are the ones putting ourselves at risk so I don’t think it is a real thing to be talking about that. But the most important thing today is that nobody got hurt.”