Guanyu Zhou was one of the great protagonists of last weekend after suffering a big accident. His Alfa Romeo C42 overturned as soon as the race started after a touch from George Russell that triggered one of the strongest incidents in recent times.
The Chinese driver went through the entire run-off area of the first corner with the car upside down, before hitting the tire barrier, jumping it and finally stopping between said protections and the fence that separates the public from the track.
The roll hoop of Zhou ‘s car was totally destroyed as soon as it landed on the asphalt. However, the Halo did resist and was key to the pilot being able to get out practically intact.
Speaking to the media this Thursday in Austria, Guanyu Zhou explained for the first time every detail of what happened and its consequences.
“With that first impact, where (the car) landed after turning, the team is still doing an investigation, but it seems that that first impact was much stronger compared to what the FIA proves in its safety test. “said the Chinese pilot.
“So obviously that’s what probably created the problem that blew [the roll bar] apart.”
Zhou also explained that at the time he focused on doing everything possible to avoid any arm or wrist injury as the car slid upside down on the track.
“Obviously when the flip happened, the first thing I tried to do was let go of the steering wheel,” he said. “Because you never know, you can very easily break your wrist in an accident like that.”
“And then the next thing I tried to do, as I was rolling on the ground, I knew I was going to have a big impact, because the car wouldn’t stop. So I tried to get as safe a position as possible, waiting for that last impact.
“It’s not like I was holding my hands back, but I was holding them tight, so they don’t move when that last impact comes.”
“Generally, I was just waiting for the last blow to come. And once I saw that it was over, I didn’t know where I was, because I was upside down.”
“The next thing I felt was basically there was a leak. I wasn’t sure if it was from my body, or from the car. So I tried to turn off the engine, because it was still running. Well obviously at that point I knew if there was a fire, it would be It’s hard to get out of there.”
“I didn’t know what had happened, who had hit me, because I was going straight on the white line before I got to Turn 1, and all of a sudden I got a big hit.
Luckily, the Alfa Romeo driver was quickly able to tell a marshal that he was fine, before being helped out of the car.
“Obviously, he was talking to me. They wanted to make sure he was conscious and that everything was okay.”
“I had to slide out of the car a little bit. I moved my legs, my feet and dragged my whole body out towards the top of the seat and then they were able to get me out.”
“I didn’t realize I was between the barriers. I thought I was on the other side of the barriers. But actually I was between the barrier and the fence, and I don’t know how I survived that.”
“But then looking back, I obviously realized that the Halo saved me.”
After all, Zhou said the most frustrating part of the day was not the accident, but the journey home from Silverstone.
“I ran into traffic on the M1, took the wrong road and left around 5pm, so I got home at 9pm. It was a very, very long day.”
“I couldn’t wait to get there to relax a bit, because I was covered in dust, there was a lot of dust after the accident, so I just wanted to get home, take a shower and relax.”
Asked if he needed any kind of moral or mental support to get over the accident, he said: “That same Sunday I watched the race again and I didn’t feel bad watching it, nor did I have that feeling.”
“So I think I was able to digest it myself, I was happy to have a rest day and be able to check my fitness again the next day.”
“For me, that was not a concern. Obviously, there are times when you do or something happens and you need a little help, but this time I don’t feel like it was necessary,” added Alfa Romeo .
Zhou will be racing again this weekend in Austria and believes it is very good news to be back behind the wheel of his car just a few days after the accident, rather than having to wait.
“On Sunday night I was sending messages to all my engineers, asking if my seat was ok. For the drivers, obviously the seat is very important, it has to be very comfortable, so I don’t want to change it, because they can always be different. , even if they try to do it exactly the same”.
“But other than that, I’m really happy that there’s a race just a few days later.”
“Because obviously if you have a long break right after this, it would be terrible, because you’ll be under pressure, you’ll be thinking about it, you’ll replay the incident in your head, even if you try to avoid it. So it’s good to get right back on track.” the young Chinese pilot.