Formula 1 has always been an extremely dangerous racing series. Accidents here in different years claimed many lives.

It is good that the bosses of the royal races are actively introducing new technologies that reduce the risk of injury to pilots. However, this does not save from terrible accidents.

At the British Grand Prix, only a miracle helped to avoid a massive tragedy!

The race is over before it starts

The British Formula 1 round this season has certainly added another fan of Halo technology, which initially drew a lot of criticism from the drivers. But more than once, the halo has proved that it is able to save riders in the most dangerous situations.

The race at Silverstone has never made headlines in obituaries. Not a single active pilot died here during the races. This trend could well be interrupted by the Chinese driver of the Alfa Romeo team, Guanyu Zhou.

On Saturday, the Chinese qualified well, finishing ninth and advancing to the third segment. The pilot of “Alpha” can add this result to the asset. Zhou with such a pace could well count on the next points in the race.

Photo: © REUTERS / Matt Dunham

But the race in the British Grand Prix ended for the Chinese, not having time to really start. Already from the first turn, his car flew upside down. Blame the unsuccessful struggle immediately after the start of the race.

Zhou’s accident involved two other pilots: George Russell and Pierre Gasly. After the starting lights went out, the Briton rode on the right, the Frenchman in the center, but slightly behind, and Guanyu was on the left, on a par with the Mercedes driver. Almost immediately after the cars started moving, there was a simultaneous collision of these pilots. As a result, Russell’s car turned around, and he flew into Zhou’s car.

From the contact, the Chinese car turned over, it flew head over heels at full speed into the protective line of tires. All this time, the Alpha pilot was inside. It’s good that the Halo titanium arc saved him from contact with the track. The speed of the car was so high that after a collision with the tires, the Chinese car was thrown up and, after flying several meters, it got stuck between the bump stop and the protective net.

From a collision with the protective structures of the Alfa Romeo, the Chinese was even more damaged. Small fragments even flew to the podium. Fans in a panic began to run away from the front rows, so as not to get injured. The accident was very similar to a scene from the horror movie Final Destination. It’s good that the car didn’t fly over the net here. There were no casualties.

They took him on a stretcher to the medical center

After the incident, the race was immediately stopped, posting red flags. The Stewarts ran to the rescue and began to rescue the stuck pilot from the mangled car. Heavy equipment was even involved in the rescue operation.

Guanyu Zhou / Photo: © Anadolu Agency / Contributor / Anadolu Agency / Gettyimages.com

To the delight of the audience, Zhou was quickly removed from the remains of the car and loaded onto a stretcher, sent to a medical center located near the circuit.

– After the accident at the start of the British Grand Prix, Zhou Guangyu is conscious and is now on his way to the circuit medical center for an examination, – reported immediately after the incident, representatives of Alfa Romeo on social networks.

Later it became known that the Chinese managed to avoid serious injuries, and he was discharged from the hospital. In the near future, he will be under the supervision of doctors in case of unexpected consequences of the accident.

I really want to believe that after this incident, the number of negatively inclined people in relation to the “nimbus” will decrease to zero, because the saved human life is more important than any inconvenience.