Russell reveals human instinct drove him to Zhou's side after terrifying 2022 Silverstone crash

George Russell has spoken candidly about the moment he chose to abandon his Mercedes and run to Zhou Guanyu’s aid following a violent first-lap collision at the 2022 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, describing it as the most terrifying incident of his Formula 1 career. The reflection came as the 28-year-old marked his first 100 races with Mercedes.

Russell, the only driver to start that race on hard tyres, made a poor getaway off the line and made contact with both Pierre Gasly and Zhou. The impact sent the Alfa Romeo cartwheeling through the gravel before it came to rest upside down, wedged between the tyre wall and catch fencing.

“I made a really bad start,” Russell told F1.com. “I hit Zhou, and the next thing he’s spinning around and cartwheeling through the gravel. It was probably the most horrifying incident I’d ever seen from the cockpit.”

Rather than returning to the pits under the red flag, Russell pulled over and sprinted to the stricken car. When he returned to his own Mercedes, he was unable to restart the engine. He instructed marshals not to touch the car while he sought help from his team, but on his return found it already loaded onto a recovery truck. Because the car had received outside assistance, the regulations ruled Russell out of the grand prix.

“I saw he was stuck behind the barriers, so it was a split… I think the racing instinct of me was like, ‘I need to carry on here’, and then I guess the human side came in,” Russell said. “It kind of felt like life or death at that moment. I couldn’t imagine what he must have felt. I knew what I had to do.”

Zhou was cleared of any serious injuries and went on to complete the remainder of the 2022 season. The incident remained one of the most dramatic moments of that campaign, and Russell’s account underlines how quickly the instinct to compete can give way to something more fundamental when a fellow driver’s life appears at risk.