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The British Grand Prix was red-flagged after a horror opening-corner multi-car smash at Silverstone, with Zhou Guanyu's Alfa Romeo flipped upside down and hurtling over the circuit's safety barrier.
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As Max Verstappen pipped pole sitter Carlos Sainz to the first corner there was "carnage" behind with marshalls rushing to Zhou trapped in his stricken car.
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Zhou's car was catapulted upside down, the Chinese rookie's head saved by his car's roll hoop-halo.
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His car skidded off across a gravel trap and over tyre barriers into the catch fencing, where it bounced back to finish semi-upright in a stationary position.
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Detailed replays of the accident were not available immediately until Zhou had been rescued from his car.
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Zhou was attended to by emergency evacuation medical crews and lifted out.
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He was then transferred on to a stretcher and taken by ambulance to the circuit medical centre.
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It appeared that Russell, starting eighth, moved to his right after a poor start and collided with Zhou's Alfa Romeo as the pair strove to stay ahead of Pierre Gasly.
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This triggered Zhou's wild excursion off-circuit and dragged other cars into further less serious multiple collisions around them.
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In a radio statement, Alfa Romeo said: "Zhou is conscious, he is talking, there are no fractures. Considering the circumstances, he is pretty good, pretty well."
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George Russell, whose Mercedes was one of the cars involved in the collision, immediately got out of his vehicle and ran over to where Zhou was to check on him.
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Russell was not allowed to restart the race in his home grand prix as he had received mechanical assistance after the crash.
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This was not the first collision in which the 'halo' device was instrumental in saving a driver from serious injury
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Roy Nissany survived after another car driven by Dennis Hauger landed on top his cockpit in which he was saved by the halo. Both escaped unhurt.
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