Overview
- A first-lap collision at the 2022 British Grand Prix sent Zhou Guanyu’s Alfa Romeo flipping and lodged it between a tyre wall and the catch fence, creating a visibly severe crash that stopped the race action.
- George Russell said he abandoned his own damaged Mercedes and ran across the gravel to check on Zhou before returning to find his car had been lifted by recovery crews and could not be restarted.
- Because Russell’s car received outside assistance from marshals and a recovery truck, FIA rules meant he was officially out of the race despite initially trying to continue.
- Commentators and the drivers credited the halo and the roll hoop for protecting Zhou, and the track medical team cleared him of major injury within minutes of the crash.
- Russell revisited the episode while marking his 100th race with Mercedes in coverage published June 21–22, 2026, calling it one of the most terrifying moments of his career and noting his bad start on hard tyres helped trigger the sequence of events.