An F1 Cameraman’s video shows the horrific impact Guanyu Zhou witnessed during the 2022 British GP first lap pileup.
Alfa Romeo driver Guanyu Zhou suffered a horrific collision during the opening lap of the 2022 British GP. The Chinese driver’s car was sent flying to the barriers after Mercedes’s George Russell hit the rear of the Alfa Romeo.
Zhou’s car flipped upside down when it hit the gravel trap on the outside of Turn 1. This was due to the high speed the car was moving in. And it went over the crash barrier, hitting the fencing with the same speed.
It was miraculous seeing the F1 driver walk away from the wreckage. Zhou did not suffer any injuries from the accident. He credits the titanium halo for saving his life after being thrown upside down.
The barrier fencing was the only thing standing between the car and the fans. Several marshals and an F1 camera crew just managed to escape being hit by the car.
An F1 cameraman captured the incident. His angle shows Zhou being shunted by Russell and getting flipped. He narrowly escapes the crash and can be heard gasping for breath. The video showed the severity of the impact.
Zhou was taken to a medical facility and was declared okay after check-ups. He could not believe he made it alive stating, “I don’t know how I survived. But then looking back obviously I saw the halo saved me.”
He thanked his fans, track marshals and medical team with a post on Social Media. Zhou was declared fit to race in the following Austrian GP. And he finished the race P14.
Also Read: Zhou Guanyu’s family witness horrific crash while attending their first F1 race
F1 to have tougher roll hoop tests after Guanyu Zhou crash
Following Guanyu Zhou’s crash, the FIA investigated the crash. It was found that the Halo did its job in saving the driver’s life. But a Roll hoop present on the top of the car had failed.
The Roll Hoop is a device to prevent a car from remaining upside down. In Zhou’s car, the device had buckled under the force of impact. The FIA’s Technical Advisory Committee has come up with a solution for all teams to follow.
It has asked teams to increase the demands on roll hoops in crash tests as a response. And the FIA plans to “introduce more stringent measures on the roll hoops for 2023” according to their statement.
#F1 | In response to @ZhouGuanyu24‘s horrific crash 💥 at the #BritishGP, the @FIA will introduce more stringent roll hoop requirements in 2023 @F1 season. Zhou’s roll hoop was lost early in the accident after taking the initial impact when he landed upside down.
📸 Ben Stansall pic.twitter.com/1Ptzqr6xmP— MatraX Lubricants (@MatraxRacing) July 15, 2022
In the initial laps, an F1 car could be carrying up to 100Kg of fuel. With an impact like this, if a car remains upside down, there could be a danger of fuel leakage. This fuel is capable of igniting in a blaze in seconds, endangering the trapped driver fatally.
Zhou himself admitted, “I just tried to switch the engine off. I knew if a fire started it would be difficult to get out.” Thankfully, there wasn’t a fire and he made it out unharmed.
Also Read: Former F1 and Moto GP Champion who campaigned for Halo device after son’s death
