Russell sees reaction to Zhou's accident as natural: "It was terrifying to see him arrested"

George Russell was praised by the motorsport world this past week for his concern over the accident of fellow driver Guanyu Zhou during the British Grand Prix. After colliding with the Chinese Alfa Romeo driver, who flipped over and had his car thrown into the space between the tire barrier and the guard rail, Russell immediately left the Mercedes to check on Zhou.

Because he was out of the car, George was unable to return to the race, which was interrupted by a red flag for more than an hour. The Englishman's Mercedes had repairable damage to the rear suspension. Asked about it at the Austrian GP press conference, Russell maintained that the reaction of concern for Guanyu was natural.

"I think it was a natural reaction. Of course, the race was interrupted by a horrible accident. I thought at the time that my car was over too. And in the end, it wasn't. It just added to the emotions, or frustration, because we definitely could have started again and got a strong result," declared the owner of the #63 car.

Russell, who is also the president of the Drivers' Association (GPDA), also commented on the crash itself and the difficult rescue situation in Guanyu, Guanyu.He was rescued by the medical team without any injuries, and will compete in the Austrian GP as normal next weekend.

"It was terrifying to see him stuck there and literally unable to get out of the case. He was fine, you could see he was moving. But as drivers, we all know you're pretty tight. You have the helmet, the halo, the headrest. And then when you have a tire barrier effectively on top of your head, blocking your rollover exit, it's a horrible situation. I think in every kind of disaster there is an opportunity to improve as a sport, whatever it is," he concluded.

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