Zhou Guanyu has told the story of his horrible crash at the British Grand Prix and his fears while it was happening.
In a messy start, Pierre Gasly was squeezed between the Chinese driver and George Russell leading to contact that turned the Mercedes into the Alfa Romeo and flipping the car over.
Zhou would then slide upside down for quite some time until his car flipped again entering the gravel, flying over the barrier and into the catch fencing.
“Once the flip happened, the first thing I was trying to do was trying to release my hand off the steering wheel,” he explained on Thursday.
Today was a reminder that F1 remains a high-speed, high-risk sport that is always right on the edge.
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 3, 2022
We are so thankful to the advances in safety that mean both Zhou Guanyu and Alex Albon are safe and well. pic.twitter.com/BJ8PPDG2av
“You can break your hand very easily with a crash like that, and while I was just rolling on the ground I knew that I’d be facing a massive impact because the car wasn’t stopping.
“I tried to lock myself in a position that was the safest possible, just waiting for the last impact. Holding the hand backwards, I keep it reasonably tensioned so it doesn’t go flying around when you have that last impact. So that was the case.
“Once I stopped, I didn’t know where I was because I was upside down, the next thing I felt was some [fluid] leaking," Zhou added. "I wasn’t sure if it was from my body or from the car.
“So I just tried to switch off the engine because the engine was still on by then. I knew if a fire started it will be difficult to get out, so I switched my engine off, and then everything was fine.”
The Alfa Romeo finally came to rest on its side between the catch fence and the metal barrier behind the tyres, with Zhou unable to get out.
“I kind of slid myself a little bit out," he revealed.
“So at least to have my leg, my feet already kind of out of the top of the seat, and they [the marshals] were able to pull me out.
“I didn’t realise I was between the barriers. I was thinking I was next to the barriers. But I was actually between the barrier and the fence, which I don’t know how I survived.
“But looking back, obviously, the Halo I saw saved me.”
After the race, Zhou declared himself "keener than ever" to get back on track this weekend in Austria, and was pleased to have the immediate chance to get back in the car.
"Already on Sunday I watched the race back,” he said. “I didn't feel sick watching it or have that feeling.
"I feel like I was able to digest a bit myself, so I was happy mentally just having one day off and then went back into checking my physical condition. For me, it wasn't a concern.
"Obviously there are times you do something and you need a bit of mental help, but this time I didn't feel it was needed.
“Sunday night I was texting all my engineers asking, is my seat OK? For drivers, the seat is very important. It's been very comfortable so far, but it can be different even if they try to do the same.”
Zhou finally concluded by praising Russell who, despite being responsible for his accident, immediately went to his aid, sacrificing his own race in the process.
“I knew there was one man there, making conversation with me to make sure I was OK," he added. "Looking at the pictures, it was George. Respect to him. It was very sportsmanlike.”
