Carlos Sainz couldn't convert his maiden F1 pole into an early lead at Silverstone, as world champion Max Verstappen made the perfect getaway to jump the Ferrari for the lead at the start of the British Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton getting ahead of Charles Leclerc for P3. However, the real drama was unfolding further down the grid...

A three-car contact also involving Mercedes' George Russell and AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly saw the Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu barrel roll out of the race at Turn 1.

The Chinese driver mercifully escaped serious injury, as did Williams' Alex Albon who also retired after being hit from behind by Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel. Secondary impacts also saw Esteban Ocon's Alpine and AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda's cars sustain damage.

It’s a miracle that Zhou Guanyu escaped his Alfa Romeo alive.

Thank god for the Halo#SilverstoneGP #F1 #BritishGP
pic.twitter.com/qyvs0IS5Da

— Ben Thomas (@Benfthomas_10) July 3, 2022

Unsurprisingly, the red flags were quickly flown before the race was restarted - using the original starting grid (minus Zhou, Russell and Albon), thus giving Sainz another opportunity to defend his pole position.