F1 World Hails George Russell as ‘An Absolute King’ After Incredible British GP Heroics

There is no doubt that Halo saved the life of the Alfa Romeo driver, Zhou Guanyu. But it was Mercedes driver George Russell who was the first one to react to the crash. The young British driver jumped out of his car to check on his colleague. He even helped the marshals get an update on the condition of the Chinese driver.

The heroics of the Mercedes driver earned praise from F1 fans all around the world. They took to social media to share their emotions regarding Russell’s selfless act during the British GP.

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In his post-race interview, Russell expressed delight over Zhou being fine after the frightening crash. He also revealed the thought process that went through his mind while he was jumping out of his Mercedes.

George Russell comments on Zhou Guanyu’s crash at Silverstone

Russell was the one that clipped Zhou’s car. But he himself was tagged by Gasly in a fast corner at the race start. So his concern over the well-being of the Chinese driver was completely genuine. Russell called the whole incident horrific.

‘Firstly, glad to see that Zhou is doing OK. Obviously, an absolutely horrific incident. I jumped out of the car to see if Zhou was OK. I saw it was red-flagged straight away.” 

“He was stuck there in such a fine gap between the tire barriers and metal fence, there was nothing he could do, nowhere to go. It was horrible,” said the British driver.

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It was good thinking from the young driver in such a tense moment. He prioritized the Alfa Romeo driver’s safety over his potential restart of the race, as later on, he was not allowed to take part in the race again. He left his car and didn’t bring the W13 into the pits himself, which basically, according to the FIA regulations, disqualified him from the Grand Prix.

Had he done so, he could have probably held on to his top 5 finish streak. All in all, a major travesty was avoided because of advancements in safety in the sport. It is nice to see Zhou walk from such a heavy impact unharmed.