‘Scary’ Formula 1 crash prompts major change

The Silverstone circuit has made modifications to the track following the horror crash at the start of the 2022 British Grand Prix.

Zhou Guanyu’s Alfa Romeo flipped before rolling in the run off area and vaulting the tyre barrier. The car hit the catch fencing, dropping into the small gap between the barrier and the fence.

That left the Chinese driver trapped in the car, although fortunately he wasn’t injured.

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Silverstone has reacted by removing the gravel trap that allowed the car to dig in and roll, replacing the area on the outside of turn one with tarmac run off.

“We’ve done a load of work this winter. There’s a big piece of asphalt out the front rather than the gravel,” the circuit’s managing director, Stuart Pringle, told Motorsport.com

“This is to stop them digging in. It’s the digging in bit that was the real issue there.”

Mercedes driver George Russell, who stopped his car to help Zhou, called it “one of the scariest crashes I’ve ever seen.”

Zhou credited the halo device, which was introduced in 2018 and sits above the drivers’ head, with saving his life.

Silverstone will host the British Grand Prix on July 9.

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