Silverstone crash victim Zhou pays tribute to halo for saving his life

Zhou Guanyu said the halo safety device "saved me today" after he escaped uninjured from the horror multi-car smash at the start of Sunday's British Grand Prix.

Zhou's Alfa Romeo was catapulted upside down, the Chinese rookie's head saved by his car's roll hoop-halo as it 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.

Marshalls rushed to Zhou trapped in his stricken car.

Detailed replays of the accident were not available immediately until Zhou had been rescued from his car.

The field filed back to the pits after the collision as a specialist extraction crew attended Zhou, who remained in his car, until he was lifted clear.

George Russell's Mercedes, Alpine's Esteban Ocon, Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri) and the Williams of Alex Albon were also involved in the pile-up that triggered a one hour red flag delay.

Other drivers including Russell climbed from their cars to assist Zhou following the collision.

In a radio statement, Alfa Romeo told Zhou's teammate Valtteri Bottas: "Zhou is conscious, he is talking, there are no fractures. Considering the circumstances, he is pretty good, pretty well."

Albon was also taken to the medical centre before being transferred to Coventry Hospital by helicopter for further precautionary tracks.

The sport's ruling body the International Motoring Federation (FIA) advised that both drivers were conscious and were being checked over and evaluated.

They later announced that Zhou was "in good health and has left the medical centre".

The normal speed for Formula One cars in that part of the circuit is around 240 kph.

In re-runs of the start, it appeared that Russell, starting eighth, moved to his right after