Zhou Guanyu avoided serious injury or death, and fans were treated to a back-and-forth British GP with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. emerging with his first Grand Prix win.
The 2022 British Grand Prix will live long in the memory for many reasons, including a first career win for Carlos Sainz Jr. and a race full of drama and fantastic wheel-to-wheel racing from start to finish. However, the biggest positive and long-lasting memory of the race will be the miraculous unharmed escape from a shocking crash by Zhou Guanyu.
As the race got underway at Silverstone and all 20 drivers battled for position going into turn 1, an unfortunate sequence of events meant that as Mercedes driver George Russell moved slightly left across the track, he came into contact with Pierre Gasly in the Alpha Tauri, who subsequently collided with Zhou’s Alfa Romeo.
The angle of contact against Zhou’s rear wheel, plus the high speed that all three cars were carrying down the main straight, meant Zhou spun across the curbs, which flipped his car upside down and then continued to bounce across the gravel run-off area. As the car was upside down, the gravel did not slow it down, and it continued to bounce at a dangerously high speed over the tyre barrier and against the fencing behind the tyres. The car eventually ended up resting between the trye barrier and the fence that had horrified spectators watching on.
The red flag was immediately brought out, and the race was stopped as everyone realised the seriousness of the accident and began to fear the worst. The record 140,000 crowd fell silent as everyone tried to process what they had just witnessed. Thankfully, after a long delay, a message was played out from the Alfa Romeo team that Zhou was conscious and talking as he was removed from the car by the medical team. That prompted the biggest cheer of the weekend from the grandstands as the feeling of relief spread across the circuit.
It was a testament to the safety of modern Formula One cars and to the halo head protection safety device. Zhou Guanyu not only escaped from an accident of such speed and horror but also unharmed.
When the halo device was brought into Formula One in 2018, it was met with much derision by Formula One teams, drivers, and fans, with many saying it went against the essence of the sport. But there is no doubt about the need for the halo and its importance. Zhou is just the latest in a long list of drivers that have been saved from serious injury by the device. Earlier on Sunday, Formula 2 driver Roy Nissany was protected by the halo in an accident with Dennis Hauger when Hauger’s car landed on top of the halo following a crash between the two cars.
Motor racing, by its nature, is an extremely dangerous sport and will always continue to be so. However, the safety of the drivers must come first above anything else.
There will always be the risk of a major accident and the possibility of serious injury or worse. However, what Formula One has done in recent years, and continues to do, is leading the way on safety so that even in the most horrific of accidents. Sunday, much like Romain Grosjean’s crash in Bahrain in 2020, proves this.
The fans were treated to the best race of the year when the British Grand Prix re-started after a one-hour delay. That, however, only tells half the story, as the race lead changed several times. After maintaining his lead from the re-start, Sainz Jr. made the mistake of letting Max Verstappen through. But after Verstappen suffered damage to his Red Bull, Sainz Jr. retook the lead only to later fall behind teammate Charles Leclerc. A late safety car and change to fresh soft tyres allowed Sainz Jr. to retake the lead and claim a much deserved and long overdue first Formula One victory, his first win in 150 starts.
The late-race safety car bunched up the field, and what followed was some of the best wheel-to-wheel racing Formula One has seen for many years.
The most fascinating battle occurred as all three drivers went side-by-side through club corner in scenes that reminded everyone more of go-karting than Formula One. This was another big boost to Formula One as, once again, it proved the changes to the car designs brought in for 2022 were successful in allowing cars to race closer together.
Formula One as a sport will no doubt feel happy and proud following the British Grand Prix. The changes it made to the safety of the modern F1 car and to the car designs shone through, much to the delight of everyone watching.
