The initial stages of the Silverstone Grand Prix will be remembered for a long time due to Guanyu Zhou’s terrible accident, fortunately without consequences. The Alfa Romeo Sauber driver, after being hit by George Russell’s Mercedes, rolled over and then continued his run upside down towards the escape route and once his car hit the guards, he was thrown over the row of tires and got stuck between these and the fencing nets.
The dynamics of the incident were frightening and only when it was certain about Zhou’s physical condition did the FIA decide to broadcast the replays of what happened.
Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz, who took his first Formula 1 victory at Silverstone, admitted that he did not want to see the images of what happened during the red flag moments, learning of the crash sequence once he arrived in the room reserved for first three classified.
“I have decided not to see the images. When the red flag was shown I realized that there must have been a bad accident but I preferred not to watch it on television. Obviously I’m happy that Zhou came out unscathed from that crash, but when I saw all the dynamics after the race I was shocked. It was incredible and it was just as incredible that he didn’t even get a scratch.” – the Ferrari driver admitted.
Carlos Sainz then wanted to give due credit to the FIA for the progress made in terms of safety.
“Sometimes we criticize the FIA, but in these cases we must recognize that it helped us and if you look at what happened in Formula 2 we can say that today the halo has saved two lives. Credit must be given to the Federation and the incredible work they are doing for safety “.
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Sergio Perez, who finished second behind Carlos Sainz, also wanted to give due credit to the FIA but unlike the Spaniard from Ferrari, the Mexican saw the images of Zhou Guanyu’s accident and was very upset.
“I knew there was an accident and I saw the images on TV when I went back to the garage. I was shocked. It’s been a while since we last witnessed such an accident and it’s hard to try to wipe it out of your mind and focus on the race. I have to congratulate the FIA for the progress in terms of safety. I’m sure there are still some improvements we can make after the lesson learned today. I don’t know if there were photographers around in that area, but we have to analyze everything to make this sport safer for everyone.” – he concluded.
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