A massive crash went down during the very first lap of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix involving Mercedes' George Russell and Alfo Romeo's Zhou Guanyu, which forced the latter to be carried out on a stretcher.

The collision occurred when George Russell tried to gain position on Alpha Tauri's Pierre Gasly, who pulled back, leading to the Mercedes crashing into the Alfa Romeo at a dangerous angle that sent several cars flying and forced a halt in the action.

https://twitter.com/akhil56565/status/1543600786516709379

The latest update on the status of Zhou appears to be a positive one as the F1 driver is reportedly conscious and not in critical condition. While he's obviously out of the race, it wasn't as definitive for George Russell. The British F1 driver's car was damaged, but supposedly not to the full extent for an obvious retirement. And while he did leave his car, it was purely to check on the state of his F1 peer.

The Mercedes team tried to lobby to get George Russell's car fixed up to allow him to participate in the restart, but to no avail as his retirement from his F1 home race was confirmed. However, Russell's heroic instincts to check on Zhou did gain him massive respect from the Formula 1 online community:

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) as the Leo Great Gatsby meme

Rexwell Villas ·

Lewis Hamilton in front of the Ferrari logo

Fremont Farkas ·

The Formula One race in the Las Vegas Grand Prix has gotten off to a rough start.

Matt Wadleigh ·

People often show their true colors in critical moments like this one. George Russell may be a terrific Formula 1 driver that's still on the rise, but he's also a world-class human for putting his peer over his home race.