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His Alfa Romeo automobile was severely broken, however the 23-year-old driver survived unharmed and aware because of the once-controversial ‘halo’ cockpit safety system, constructed from titanium, which had earlier additionally saved the lifetime of a Components Two driver.
Zhou’s outstanding survival, and not using a scratch, enabled the game to push apart arguments over ‘floor impact’ know-how, bumpy and porpoising automobiles and mid-season threats of looming rule modifications in reward of one thing extra vital.
The ‘halo’ was pioneered by the Worldwide Motoring Federation (FIA), led by Charlie Whiting, the long-serving race director and security delegate, who died immediately on the Australian Grand Prix in 2019.
He overcame opposition from traditionalists, together with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes crew chief Toto Wolff who wished to retain the purity and hazard of open cockpits.
Wolff mentioned he wished to “take a sequence noticed” to the system, launched in 2018, however each males have since modified their views.
Earlier than Sunday’s beautiful proof, the ‘halo’ had helped save a number of different drivers from critical damage or worse in recent times together with Charles Leclerc on the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix, Romain Grosjean on the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix and Hamilton ultimately 12 months’s Italian occasion when he collided with title rival and eventual champion Max Verstappen.
At Silverstone, it was Zhou who escaped after being trapped in his automobile simply seconds after the race had began because it landed on its facet within the fencing on the 240-kph Abbey Curve.
“I’m okay, all clear,” he tweeted. “Halo saved me at this time. Thanks everybody in your variety messages.”
F2 driver survives crash
Solely hours earlier within the F2 race, Dennis Hauger’s automobile had landed on prime of Roy Nissany in one other crash, paying homage to Hamilton’s in Monza final 12 months when Verstappen’s Pink Bull vaulted throughout his Mercedes’ cockpit.
After claiming his maiden F1 victory on the one hundred and fiftieth try, Sainz admitted he had initially shut the stunning Zhou accident from his thoughts through the one-hour delay earlier than the race re-started.
“To begin with, I took the choice to not see the accident. When the pink flag occurred, I knew there should have been an enormous shunt, however I didn’t watch the TV.
“I used to be extremely comfortable to see Zhou come out of his automobile with out main points and after I noticed what had occurred after the race, I used to be utterly shocked. It was unimaginable.
“The very fact he got here out of it’s loopy. We generally criticize the FIA, however you need to give to them how a lot they’ve helped us -– and the accident in F2 too.
“Right now, the FIA saved two lives and we have to give it to them, for the superb work they’re doing in security… I thank them for this and I like the game for that.”
Sergio Perez, who completed second for Pink Bull, added: “It has been some time since we’ve got seen an accident like that and it’s arduous to see it after which delete it out of your thoughts and to focus.”
Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell, whose collision with Zhou initially instigated the multi-car crash that noticed the Chinese language despatched flying, flipping and barrel-rolling earlier than scraping the bottom, stopped and ran over to test on him.
“That was a scary incident,” he mentioned. “All credit score to the marshals and the medical crew for his or her fast response… It was the scariest factor I’ve seen in my life. It was horrible. He was caught there and there was nothing I might do.”
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