Zhou writes about his accident: “I don’t know how I survived”
Guanyu Zhou was involved in a terrible accident at the British Grand Prix, he opens up.
The first round of the British Grand Prix was the scene of a catastrophic collision. A misjudgment by George Russell caused him to slightly lose control of his car and collide with Zhou’s Alfa Romeo. Due to the rigid suspensions, the car takes off and flips over.
The Chinese driver then crosses the track while sliding on the roll hoop and the Halo, before ending up in a barrel roll in the gravel. The Chinese driver then finishes his race against the safety fence, after jumping over the tires.
The red flag is immediately waved and Zhou is taken to the medical center after long minutes stuck in his car, the halo against the inflatable wall. Miraculously, he comes out unharmed and will continue racing here in Austria. On this occasion, the injured driver has decided to open up about his accident.
« Once I turned around, the first thing I did was to remove my hands from the steering wheel, because this kind of accident can easily break a hand and because while I was sliding on the ground, I knew a huge impact was waiting for me, as the car wasn’t stopping. I tried to position myself in the safest possible way, anticipating the impact. I tightened my body to prevent it from being thrown during the final collision, explains the Chinese driver.
Once stopped, I didn’t know where I was because I found myself upside down. There was some sort of fluid flowing, and I wasn’t sure if it was the car’s liquid or my body’s. I tried to turn off the engine because it was still running, and I knew that if a fire started, it would be difficult to get out of there. I turned off the engine, and everything was fine.
The Alfa Romeo driver’s single-seater finished between the end circuit fencing and the wall of tires, stuck vertically.
I didn’t realize that I was between the barriers. I thought I was just next to the tires, but in reality, I was between the tires and the safety barrier. I don’t know how I managed to survive.
Clearly, this accident once again highlights the importance of the safety perspective of the halo introduced in Formula 1 a few years ago.
After reviewing the footage, the Halo saved my life.
Motors Inside has provided an update on – at least – the 4 lives saved in recent seasons thanks to the halo.
