‘I don’t know how I survived’: Zhou Guanyu feared fire after British GP crash

Zhou Guanyu’s Alfa Romeo hit the crash barriers after the incident at the start of the British Grand Prix. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Zhou Guanyu, the driver who endured an enormous crash at last Sunday’s British Grand Prix, has said he finds it hard to believe he survived the incident. Speaking about what happened at Silverstone for the first time, Zhou admitted he feared his car would catch fire as he lay trapped amid the wreckage.

The 23-year-old, who is the first Chinese driver in Formula One and in his rookie season in the sport, was speaking in the buildup to this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring and once more paid tribute to the halo cockpit protection device. “I don’t know how I survived,” he said. “But then looking back obviously I saw the halo saved me.”