Mercedes driver George Russell jumped from his car to race over and check on Zhou Guanyu after his Alfa Romeo vaulted a barrier at Silverstone at Sunday’s Grand Prix.
The pair started eighth and ninth on the grid, and their two cars collided as they tried to go around the first corner, causing them to go flying off the track.
AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly caught Russell, who in turn clipped Zhou, who was sent careering off the track, across the gravel, into the tyre wall, which then flipped him into the catch fence.
George Russell (right) has been praised for his heroic act during the British Grand Prix
Zhou Guanyu’s car flipped over on the opening lap at the British Grand Prix after a crash
The Alfa Romeo then smashed into a fence after bouncing over a tyre barrier at Silverstone
Mercedes driver Russell raced over to help Zhou which saw him forfeit his chance to restart
Russell was able to leave his car quickly and appeared unharmed, but Zhou’s car flipped over several times as it flew across the gravel and over a barrier before smashing into a fence.
The Brit quickly spotted that his fellow driver was in trouble and ran over to try to help him, a heroic act which saw Russell forfeit his opportunity to restart the race.
He first ran over to see how Williams’ Alex Albon, his best pal who had also been involved in the incident, was faring and then went across to Zhou, calling the accident: ‘The scariest thing I have seen in my life.’
Russell was able to leave his car quickly and appeared unharmed before checking on Zhou
The Brit first checked on Williams’ Alex Albon, his best pal who also received medical attention
He then stood nearby and watched on as a host of medics arrived on the scene before an extraction team rushed to the 23-year-old Chinese driver, in just his 10th race, to carefully remove him from the vehicle and take him away in an ambulance to the medical centre.
Zhou was taken to the medical centre as a precaution but was later given a clear bill of health following an assessment.
Following his heroics during the race, Russell told Sky Sports: ‘Firstly glad to see that Zhou is doing OK. Obviously an absolutely horrific incident.
Russell then stood nearby and watched on as a host of medics arrived on the scene
‘Ultimately we took a risk starting on the hard because I made the mistake in qualifying, we were starting out of position and we thought that risk gave us the best opportunity later in the race but there was just no grip whatsoever on the hardest compound.
‘It’s cold out there. I got swamped by all the cars and next thing I know I got touched and I was in the side of Zhou and that was it.
‘I jumped out of the car to see if Zhou was OK. I saw it was red flagged straight away.
‘When I came back to the car I couldn’t quite get it started for whatever reason so I ran back to the team to check.
The 24-year-old driver called the accident ‘the scariest thing I have seen in my life’
‘I told the marshalls to leave the car and next thing when I got back the car was on the back of the flat bed.
‘Apparently as soon as you get assistance, you can’t restart. So very frustrating because the car just had the puncture and there’s no doubt we had the pace to get P6.
‘It’s one of those unique scenarios I guess but I can’t really think about it at the moment.’
He later added: ‘He was stuck there in such a fine gap between the tyre barriers and metal fence, there was nothing he could do, nowhere to go. It was horrible.
‘I am just glad he is OK. I got swamped at the start and the next thing I know I was in the side of Zhou.’
Once the race had restarted, Alfa Romeo delivered an update, stating that Zhou had been released from the medical centre and he was later seen walking around the paddock at Silverstone.
Then on social media, Zhou confirmed he was fine, posting a message along with a selfie: ‘I’m OK, all clear. Halo saved me today. Thanks everyone for your kind messages!’
Zhou later reassured his Twitter followers after his terrifying crash early on in the race
Formula One fans took to social media to hail the Mercedes driver as a hero following his race day actions.
One posted: ‘George Russell’s action today shouldn’t go unnoticed today, a class act. Alex Albon also asked the marshalls to check on Zhou first when they came to him. Respect all around.’
While another also praised Russell for racing over to the Alfa Romeo racer, hailing him as a ‘true sportsman’.
They said: ‘George Russell is a hero and a true sportsman the first thing he did was sprint to check Zhou.’
Meanwhile, another fan simply branded Russell the ‘hero of the day’ as they shared a photo of him leaping from his car.
Formula One fans were quick to praise Russell for his actions, branding him a ‘hero’
Albon also received medical attention after being catapulted into the pit wall after being rammed by Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin.
The British-Thai driver was helicoptered to Coventry hospital but released later on Sunday evening.
Albon said: ‘I’m very glad that everyone else involved in the first-lap incident is OK.
‘Thank you to the medical staff at the track and Coventry hospital.
‘It’s a shame the race ended before it began today but we are already fully focused on Austria [this coming weekend]. Bring on the next one.’
