F1 can learn from Zhou crash, says Russell

LONDON — Formula One can learn an important safety lesson from Chinese driver Guanyu Zhou’s huge British Grand Prix accident, according to Mercedes driver George Russell.

The Briton was involved in the opening lap accident that sent Zhou’s sparking Alfa Romeo skidding upside down along the track before it flew over the tire wall and became wedged sideways in a gap between the catch fence and barrier.

The rookie said later his life had been saved by the titanium halo head protection system.

“It was horrible, in that position he was stuck there, (there was) nothing he could have done,” Russell, quickly on the scene after leaping out of his stricken car, told reporters at Silverstone.

“We need to think to avoid a car being stuck in such a fine gap,” added the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) director. “The space between the barriers and the metal fence and he was just stuck in there, nowhere to go. Yeah, something to learn.”