The British Grand Prix bordered on tragedy at the start. A multi-car accident at the start caused a hair-raising crash for Chinese driver Guanyu Zhou, whose Alfa Romeo flipped upside down and crashed into the tire fence, eventually jumping off. Zhou was conscious and out of danger. The halo saved his life.
The exit could not be more tumultuous. A red flag appeared for the chain accident on the starting straight, in which the lower-middle area of the grid was involved with Albon, Ocon, Tsunoda, Russell and Zhou.
Accelerating the cars at the start, Russell's Mercedes, hit from behind, touched the Alfa Romeo, which was catapulted, spun on its axis, flipped upside down, and was thrown uncontrollably through the gravel, hitting with the tire fence, which came to jump. He was stopped by the subsequent metal fence before the public stands.
The Chinese Alfa Romeo driver had to be extracted from the car, which was caught on the fences, but Zhou was conscious, out of danger, treated at the medical center, according to his team. He also required medical assistance Alex Albon, who was taken to a hospital by helicopter.
At the head of the race, Sainz, with medium tires, lost the first position to a brilliant Verstappen with a soft tire. The Dutchman struck him down.
Position changes at startup were noticeable. Hamilton grew to third place by overtaking Pérez and Leclerc; the Monegasque gave up one position, fourth; and Fernando Alonso also advanced two squares, up to fifth place, with Pérez at his tail, sixth.
It was the provision that remained to resume the race after the stoppage of the checkered flag. The test was stopped for 55 minutes until it was resumed with a second start.
