British Grand Prix red-flagged after scary multi-car crash, Zhou stretchered away

The British Grand Prix has been red-flagged on the first lap after a frightening first corner collision that saw Alfa Romeo driver Guanyu Zhou fly into the run-off area upside down.

The Chinese rookie was involved in a five-car incident that also involved Mercedes driver George Russell, Alpine's Esteban Ocon, AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda and Williams driver Alex Albon, with extensive damage on each machine.

The on-track extraction team was deployed in order to safely right Zhou, before taking him to an ambulance on a stretcher.

The car had flipped into the barriers on the outside of Abbey, lodging itself between the catch fence and the safety barriers having dug into the gravel.

Russell had connected with Pierre Gasly, and after spinning, tangled wheels with the rear of Zhou's car, whose roll hoop seemingly instantly failed.

The Mercedes driver immediately stopped and rushed to ensure the Alfa Romeo driver was safe.

Max Verstappen had taken the lead from Carlos Sainz at the start by using the extra grip from a set of soft tyres, with Lewis Hamilton making his way back to third.

The red flag was flown with the leaders at turn three, with Charles Leclerc in fourth and Fernando Alonso in fifth.

It was the second time in the day the Halo safety device was called into action after a scary incident in the earlier F2 race, where Roy Nissany was almost certainly saved from a fatal accident when Dennis Hauger was launched into a head-height T-bone.

An FIA update 20 minutes after the crash read: "The FIA advises that following the incident at the start if the race, emergency crews were immediately in attendance and the drivers of Car 23 [Albon] and Car 24 [Zhou] have been taken to the medical centre.

"Both drivers were conscious and will be evaluated at the medical centre. Further updates will be given in due course."

Following a crash at the start of the British Grand Prix, Zhou Guanyu is conscious and now at the circuit’s medical centre to undergo evaluation. #BritishGP

— Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN (@alfaromeoorlen) July 3, 2022

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