George Russell has revealed details of the terrifying crash that saw Zhou Guanyu lucky to escape unharmed at the 2022 Formula 1 British Grand Prix.
Russell was involved in a first corner incident with the Chinese driver, colliding with the Alfa Romeo in the opening seconds of the race.
A chain reaction followed, with immediate consequences for Zhou, as he was pivoted upside down, while still at speed.
His car was not slowing down, and his helmet scraped across the tarmac, the car then digging into the gravel at Turn 1.
The car then hit the barriers, the momentum carried causing it to launch over the tyre wall and make impact with the catch fencing that protects fans in the grandstands.
Recalling the incident in which he saw unfold in real time, Russell explained the factors behind the incident.
“I remember I made a really bad start,” Russell said to F1.
“I was the only driver with the hard tyre starting the race, came off the line, wheels spinning, all the drivers zooming by me…”
George Russell calls Zhou Guanyu’s crash “the most horrifying incident I’d ever seen from the cockpit”
Russell then revealed his mindset as he watched the crash, during which he jumped out of his own car to help the marshals recover the stricken Alfa Romeo than had lodged itself between the barriers.
He then explained the internal battle between the “racing instinct” and “human side” of him while in the car.
“I hit Zhou, and the next thing he’s spinning around and cartwheeling through the gravel.
“It was probably the most horrifying incident I’d ever seen from the cockpit.
“I saw he was stuck behind the barriers, so it was a split… I think the racing instinct in me was like: ‘I need to carry on here,’ and then I guess the human side came in.
“It kind of felt like life or death at that moment. I couldn’t imagine what he must have felt.
“I knew what I had to do.”
The first lap crash at the 2022 British GP is still one of the most frightening in recent memory. Whilst it highlighted the continued dangers of Motorsport, it also silenced critics of the Halo.
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