‘I’m ok, all clear’: Zhou Guanyu insists his halo ‘saved me today’ after terrifying British GP crash

Alfa Romeo driver Zhou Guanyu credited the halo on his car for saving his life after surviving a horror crash from the start of Sunday’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone in front of thousands of shocked fans.

The Formula One rookie was approaching the 160mph opening Abbey corner when British driver George Russell tagged the right rear of Zhou’s car, sending him on to his roof and sliding out of control. 

But he was miraculously unharmed after his car continued through the gravel and slammed into the tyre wall, and after he was extracted from his car he confirmed he was unhurt. 

Zhou Guanyu reassured his Twitter followers after his terrifying crash early on in the race

A crane was required to remove Zhou’s car after it flipped over the protective tyres

Zhou’s car flipped before being caught between the tyre wall and the fence at Silverstone 

He took to Twitter to share his condition with his followers, writing: ‘I’m ok, all clear. Halo saved me today. Thanks everyone for your kind messages!’ 

Zhou’s Alfa Romeo was lodged on its side, between the tyre wall and the fencing, with nearby fans and photographers ducking for cover following the impact.

An extraction team rushed to Zhou and the 23-year-old Chinese driver, in just his 10th race, was carefully removed and taken away in an ambulance to the medical centre.

Russell was also seen dashing to check on his friend, the Williams driver Alex Albon who was also caught up in the accident, and then Zhou’s condition.

‘I’m glad to see Zhou okay. It was an horrific incident,’ Russell told Sky Sports.

The Mercedes driver, who was not permitted to restart the race, added: ‘I jumped out of the car to see that Zhou was ok. When got back to car I couldn’t restart it. As soon as you get outside assistance you cannot restart the race.’

Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon were also involved in the frenetic first moments of Sunday’s race, with both drivers limping back to the pits for repairs and able to take part in the restart.

A radio message to Zhou’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas said: ‘Zhou is conscious. He is talking. There are no fractures and, considering the circumstances, he is pretty good, pretty well.’

The race was delayed by 53 minutes after Zhou Guanyu’s horror crash from the race start

Fans watched on in shock as the car flipped

Zhou remained at the on-track medical centre for observations, while London-born Albon has been transferred to hospital.

An FIA spokesperson said: ‘Two drivers involved in the incident at the start of the race were checked in the medical centre. There were no major injuries.

‘The driver of car 24 (Zhou) is under observation in the medical centre. The driver of car 23 (Albon) will be transferred by helicopter to Coventry Hospital for precautionary checks.

‘The driver of car 63 (Russell) was checked by medical staff and was declared fit.’

The race was immediately red-flagged, but as the cars made their way back to the pits, five protestors stormed the circuit at the 200mph Wellington Straight before sitting down.

The protestors were dragged away by marshals as a number of drivers sped by before a 53-minute delay to the race’s restart.

An FIA spokesperson said: ‘We confirm that after the red flag, several people attempted to enter the track. These people were immediately removed and the matter is now being dealt with by the local authorities.’

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz won the eventful British Grand Prix for his first victory in Formula One

Northamptonshire Police said they had made a number of arrests.

They said on Twitter: ‘We can confirm that after the red flag, a number of people entered the track.

‘All have been removed safely and a number of arrests have been made.

‘We continue to ask people to be extra vigilant and report anything suspicious to us.’