F1 star George Russell opens up on horrifying 'life or death' accident at British Grand Prix

Zhou crashes at start of 2022 British GP — Photo: © IMAGO

George Russell

F1 star George Russell opens up on horrifying 'life or death' accident

George Russell and Zhou Guanyu came together at Silverstone

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 22 June 2026 09:12

Mercedes F1 star George Russell has opened up about that terrifying 2022 British Grand Prix accident involving Zhou Guanyu.

Russell and Zhou came together heading into turn one at the 2022 race at Silverstone, with the contact flipping Zhou's Alfa Romeo car onto its head.

The car then spun around on its head, before flipping itself back just before the barriers, leaving Zhou's car lodged between the tyre barriers and the fence protecting the fans.

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Incredibly, nobody was injured and Zhou was cleared by the medical team at the track minutes later, but the incident left all watching with their hearts in their mouths.

Mercedes' Russell immediately ran over to the site of Zhou's crash to check if the Chinese driver was ok, while his Mercedes car lay stricken on the run-off area with three wheels.

The safety of Zhou in the cockpit can largely be put down to the roll hoop on the top of all F1 cars, as well as the halo device, which was brought in for the 2018 season and has led to improved safety for the competing drivers.

Now, Russell has spoken out about the incident, and how the human side of his personality immediately replaced his racer side in that moment as he saw Zhou flying off into the barriers.

Russell's compassion shines through

Speaking to F1.com as part of a feature celebrating his 100th grand prix for Mercedes, Russell walked fans through the incident on that summer's day in 2022.

"I remember I made a really bad start," the Brit said. "I was the only driver with the hard tyre starting the race, came off the line, wheels spinning, all the drivers zooming by me.

"I hit Zhou, and the next thing he’s spinning around and cartwheeling through the gravel. It was probably the most horrifying incident I’d ever seen from the cockpit.

"I saw he was stuck behind the barriers, so it was a split… I think the racing instinct of me was like, ‘I need to carry on here’, and then I guess the human side came in.

"It kind of felt like life or death at that moment. I couldn’t imagine what he must have felt. I knew what I had to do."

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F1 Mercedes George Russell Silverstone British Grand Prix Zhou Guanyu