Spectators and racers were left stunned as Zhou Guanyu's car skidded along the tarmac and hurtled over the tire barriers.

The Chinese rookie's car flipped upside-down just 10 seconds into the Silverstone Grand Prix on Sunday before sliding several hundred meters and crashing into the spectator fencing.

His Alfa Romeo was wedged between fence and tire barrier as the race was immediately red-flagged and called to a halt.

Fellow driver George Russell immediately sprinted to the scene to check on Zhou.

"It was one of the scariest crashes I've ever seen," Russell said.

After safety crews attended to Zhou, the Alfa Romeo team radioed through incredible and welcome news to Zhou's team mate Valtteri Bottas: "Zhou is conscious, he is talking, there are no fractures. Considering the circumstances, he is pretty good, pretty well."

'Halo' comes to the rescue

Silverstone is one of the fastest tracks on the F1 calendar. Cars are typically running at speeds around 240 km/h at the part of the track where Zhou crashed.

When upside down, Zhou's car rested on the "Halo" safety device, a protective curved bar designed to protect drivers' exposed heads, and it once again did its job.

The Halo was also at work in Formula 2 earlier in the day, when Dennis Hauger's car landed on top of rival Roy Nissany.

Zhou was stretchered away from the scene for observation in the medical center but was later cleared and released.

Williams' Alex Albon was transferred by helicopter to Coventry Hospital for a precautionary check, after hitting the wall in the chaotic aftermath of the crash, which also involved Russell, Esteban Ocon and Yuki Tsunoda.

The race was postponed for about an hour before restarting in front of the 140,000-strong crowd at the English race track. Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz Jr. claimed his first Formula One victory, ahead of Red Bull's Sergio Perez and home favorite Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes. Championship leader Max Verstappen could only manage seventh place.