The British Grand Prix ground to a halt on Lap One after Zhou Guanyu was launched into the air and turned upside down at the first corner of Silverstone.
The Mercedes of George Russell and Williams of Alex Albon were also caught in the horrific accident at the start of the race but thanks to modern-day safety features, all drivers escaped without major injuries.
Zhou suffered the most terrifying outcome of the incident which saw his Alfa Romeo roll over onto its head at the high-speed Abbey corner. His car hurtled across the gravel and into the barriers before being thrown into the catch fencing.
As a result, the car was lodged between the tyre wall and the fencing on its side. The medical teams had to extract the Chinese driver from the car before he was taken away on a stretcher for treatment at the medical centre alongside Williams’ Albon.
The FIA released a statement on Sunday which revealed none of the drivers had suffered any major injuries.
“Two drivers involved in the incident at the start of the race were checked in the medical centre,” the statement explained.
“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.”
Williams later confirmed on social media that Albon had been released from the hospital and was doing well.
They wrote: “We are pleased to confirm that Alex has been given the all-clear and has been discharged from Coventry Hospital. Thank you to everyone for your well wishes.”
Both drivers then took to their own social media with images of themselves to reassure fans they will be fighting fit in Austria in just a matter of days.
All ok, the pets are ok 😅 but more importantly I’m glad @ZhouGuanyu24 is ok! Thank you to the medical staff and for all the messages. Eyes already on Austria 👊 pic.twitter.com/15PI86Iooz
— Alex Albon (@alex_albon) July 3, 2022
I’m ok, all clear. Halo saved me today. Thanks everyone for your kind messages! pic.twitter.com/OylxoJC4M0
— 周冠宇 | Zhou Guanyu 🇨🇳 (@ZhouGuanyu24) July 3, 2022
