Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz has taken his first win in Formula One after an epic battle at the British Grand Prix.
At lights out at 3:00 pm today, things ground to a halt before the end of Lap one due to a horror crash that saw Zhou Guanyu hurtling towards the barriers on his halo before his Alfa Romeo flipped over the tyre barrier and was trapped between it and the barrier.
He was cut out of the car by stewards and medics and was brought to the medical centre for checks. It is understood that he was conscious and the team confirmed this afternoon that he is ok.
They took to Twitter and wrote:
Update: Zhou has been declared fit and released from the circuit’s medical centre.#BritishGP
— Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN (@alfaromeoorlen) July 3, 2022
Racing resumed 45 minutes later, and it was an epic battle from start to finish that saw the Spanish Ferrari man clinch the win.
Perez, Hamilton, Leclerc, and Alonso drove their hearts out in the final laps but the Red Bull and Mercedes ultimately came out on top to secure the final two steps on the podium today.
Speaking after the race, today’s victor, Carlos Sainz told Sky Sports: “I don’t know what to say, it’s amazing.
“First race win, 150 races later, with Ferrari in Silverstone… I cannot ask for more. It’s a very special day and a day that I will never forget.
“Thank you everyone for the cheers. Lewis was on it today, one of his days but we managed to hold on.”
Joining him on the podium was the Red Bull of Sergio Perez in second and Hamilton in third on the final step.
The Mercedes driver told reporters: “First I really have to give it up to this crowd, thank you to everybody for the incredible support. We don’t see this all around the world, this is the greatest group that we get to see so I’m so grateful for that.
“I gave it everything today, I was trying to chase down those Ferraris but congratulations to Carlos, they were just too quick today for us.
“At the end, I was in amongst that battle but those guys were just too quick for me on the straights. I’m so, so grateful for the hard work the team did to get an upgrade here. We’ve made a step closer, so we’ve got to keep pushing.
“The pace was great on both sets of tyres. At the end, once you get a Red Bull behind you they’re so fast on the straights. So, we’ve got some improvements to make.
“This is a huge bonus for us to be on the podium and I’m glad everyone was safe from the big crash at the beginning.
“We’re going to continue to push, let’s keep trying to be the best we can and send you all positivity.”
