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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Matt Majendie

British Grand Prix: Zhou Guanyu suffers horror crash on first lap of F1 race

Zhou Guanyu has been taken to medical centre after crashing upturned into the barriers as part of a multi-car accident on the opening lap of the British Grand prix.

The Alfa Romeo driver had to be extricated from the car following a crash involving George Russell, Alex Albon, Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon bringing an immediate red flag.

Russell immediately leapt from his Mercedes car and ran to check on the condition of Zhou, who is believed to have remained conscious throughout the accident.

He was taken away off track in an ambulance but was moving at the time.

The rest of the cars still in the race returned to their respective garages as marshals worked to remove the damaged cars, most notably Zhou's heavily embedded Alfa Romeo.

(AP)
(AFP via Getty Images)

An FIA statement confirmed: “Zhou and Albon have been taken to the medical centre. Both were conscious and will be evaluated at the medical centre”

At the original start, Max Verstappen got the jump on polesitter Carlos Sainz having started on soft tyres rather than the Spaniard's medium tyres.

As well as Zhou, Albon was also taken to be treated as a precaution following his part in the crash. Williams confirmed Albon has been flown by helicopter to Coventry Hospital for precautionary checks.

(REUTERS)
Alex Albon’s wreckage (AP)

After that dramatic crash, there were protestors that climbed the fence, broke into the track and lay down on it.

In a statement, Formula 1 said: “We can confirm that after the red flag, several people attempted to enter the track. These people were immediately removed and the matter is now being dealt with by the local authorities.”

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