Zhou Guanyu's car flipped upside down after an incident involving George Russell which saw the British Grand Prix red-flagged on the first lap.
The first running of the Silverstone race lasted for just 21 seconds before the marshals were waving red flags. The incident, which involved several drivers, led to Zhou's car flipping and skidding at high speed along the track before smashing into a barrier.
Russell, whose Mercedes was damaged in the crash, was quick to get out of his Mercedes and run over to the stricken Alfa Romeo to check on his fellow racer. Zhou was taken out of the car after several minutes, and Alfa Romeo confirmed: "Following a crash at the start of the British Grand Prix, Zhou Guanyu is conscious and now at the circuit's medical centre to undergo evaluation."
Russell is out of a race for the first time this season, ending his streak of top-five finishes. Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon and Alexander Albon were also involved in the incident.
Replays showed Pierre Gasly had made contact with Russell's car, and the spinning Mercedes slammed into Zhou. The Alfa flipped almost immediately, and skidded towards the barrier, before it became airborne again and leapt over the tyre wall and into the fence protecting spectators.
Meanwhile, a group of protestors stormed the track on the first lap – even thought the racing had been stopped before they reached the part of the track that had been invaded. Photos show the protestors being dealt with by marshals and police after being taken off the track.
The crash came after another scary incident at Silverstone earlier in the day, during the F2 feature race. Roy Nissany was saved from possible death by his halo safety system, when the car of rival Dennis Hauger landed on top of him.
Nissany was engaged in a tight fight with Dennis Hauger on the opening lap of the race, when the frightening incident occurred. The pair made contact heading into Vale, and Hauger couldn't help but go off the track.
His front right tyre was torn right off the rim, which didn't help him in his attempts to stop his Prema as it skidded across the grass and hit the inside of the sausage kerb. His car bounced up in the air and landed on top of Nissany's, with only the protective Halo preventing the sidepod from making contact with the Israeli's helmet.
