As soon as the lights went out, Guanyu Zhou’s Alfa Romeo ended up face down on tarmac and gravel, sliding on these surfaces before flipping over the tire barrier at the first corner, Abbey.
Although his car ended up wedged between the tire barriers and safety fences, the stewards were able to get him out of the car and the Chinese driver was later cleared by medical staff at the Silverstone track medical clinic.
Although the drivers received positive news about Zhou’s condition during the nearly hour-long wait they had to face, Carlos Sainz said he chose not to watch footage of what had happened before the British GP resumed. .
It was not until the test was over, already in the room before the podium, that the race winner saw the accident and understood the magnitude of the impact.
“I made the decision not to see the accident,” explained the man from Madrid. “When the red flag came, I knew there had to be a big crash to get a red flag, but I didn’t look at the TVs.
“Obviously I was very happy to see Zhou get out of the car without any major problems, but then when I saw him now on the podium I was completely shocked. It was unbelievable, the accident and the fact that he got out of it.”
Sainz said that although the FIA had come under fire for some of its actions this year, there was no doubt that, when it came to safety, it had everything under control.
“I find it incredible that you can get out of there,” he added. “Sometimes we criticize the FIA, but in these cases we have to recognize how much they have helped us.”
“And if you look at the crash [involving Roy Nissany] in F2, what happened with the Halo, then they’ve probably saved two lives. So we have to give them credit for the incredible job they’re doing on safety.” .
Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez echoed Sainz’s comments that the accident had opened his eyes, admitting he had found it difficult to clear his mind of thoughts of the crash before the restart.
“I knew there was an accident, but I was back in the garage, I was watching TV and they showed the impact,” said the Mexican. “I was surprised”.
“It’s been a while since we’ve seen an accident like this, and it’s hard to look at that and try to erase it from your mind and try to focus on what you have to do.”
“But well done by the FIA, because we have come a long way. I am sure there are still good improvements [to be made], and always [there are] good lessons to make sure we learn from [what has happened] today, for see the accident, to make sure there are things we can improve.
“I don’t know if there were photographers around who were in danger, so we’ll take a look and see if we can make this a safer sport for everyone.”
Pérez also said that the accident was a reminder of the dangers that F1 drivers face, at a time when they are trying to put a limit on the money they can earn.
“When you hear about putting a cap on drivers’ salaries, we’re the ones taking all the risk out there, putting on the show,” he said.
“So I don’t think it’s good to talk about it in the sport going forward. But the most important thing is that no one was hurt,” concluded the Mexican driver.
