This afternoon's British Grand Prix was always sure to produce some drama, but there were fears for the safety of Zhou Guanyu after a scary crash in the first corner of the track.
The race got off to an exciting start, with a number of overtakes on the first corner. Max Verstappen moved up into first position, while Fernando Alonso also made his way up the standings.
However, that first lap would soon be drawn to a halt after a scary incident.
It appeared that a number of cars were involved in a coming together early on. George Russell, Alexander Albon, and Esteban Ocon were all involved, but it was Zhou Guanyu that suffered the biggest collision.
Zhou Guanyu involved in scary British GP crash
You can see in this initial replay how Zhou's Alfa Romeo flipped into the air before dragging along the track and into the side fencing.
Zhou Guanyu and his car are currently trapped inside the fence, they arent showing it, but his car was going very fast upside down, theyre not showing replays either pic.twitter.com/VWHfWr0WDS
— T000MANY🇦🇺 (Christmas era) (@T00000MANY) July 3, 2022
The safety of the driver was obviously a massive concern at this stage.
However, it was thankfully soon confirmed that Zhou Guanyu emerged from the incident relatively unscathed.
This view from inside Yuka Tsunodi's AlphaTauri told a clearer story, with Zhou's car flipping after making contact with George Russell's Mercedes.
Woah 😳 Good to here Zhou is out of the car and ok. He has now been taken by ambulance to get checked out 🙏 #F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/sfqBzq33Qj
— F1 Images (@F1_Images) July 3, 2022
The view from inside the driver's car gave an indication just how frightening the whole situation would have been.
Zhou Guanyu’s onboard cam. #BritainGP pic.twitter.com/nh7U9nvK0g
— Chang (@msh_siu) July 3, 2022
It is remarkable that the Chinese star emerged from this one unharmed.
This replay showed the way in which the car was flipped before dragging along the ground and ending up in the air after it reached the side of the track.
Hope he okay after that crash #f1 #SilverstoneGP @ZhouGuanyu24 pic.twitter.com/7Bxx8iADCb
— liam-percy taylor (@percy641) July 3, 2022
The moment Zhou's Alfa Romeo rolled over in horror crash.
Zhou is 'ok' and stretchered to medical centre; Russell and Albon are also out of the race. pic.twitter.com/YXifaPQ3mL— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 3, 2022
A red flag was immediately produced, meaning the race was brought to a halt and would experience a sizeable delay while the track was cleared.
Thankfully for all involved, Zhou Guanyu should be back in a Formula 1 car in no time.