Frank Williams praises teams’ rescue efforts after fire

2012 Spanish Grand Prix

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Williams team owner Frank Williams has praised the efforts of the F1 community in responding to the fire which broke out in the team’s garage yesterday.

“I was pleased to welcome back to the factory the majority of our team this morning. One of our people remains in Spain for further medical assistance, but we are all looking forward to his imminent return.

“Everyone at Williams F1 is extremely relieved that this event was contained as quickly as it was and the damage which occurred was, relatively speaking, limited in its nature.

“While the incident was unexpected and definitely most undesirable, it has demonstrated the genuine cohesiveness, camaraderie and spirit of co-operation that exists within the Formula One paddock. The astonishing response from the teams and other paddock personnel was immediate, unconditional and overwhelming.”

Williams confirmed two further team members who were treated for smoke inhalation have been released from hospital.

Another member of the team remains in hospital in Spain having suffered burns in the incident. His condition is described as stable and he is expected to return to the UK within the next 48 hours where his treatment will continue.

Williams, the FIA and the local authorities are investigating the cause of the fire.

2012 Spanish Grand Prix

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Image © Williams/LAT

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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21 comments on “Frank Williams praises teams’ rescue efforts after fire”

  1. This photo from WTF1 really struck me, great to see everyone was giving a help in that dramatic situation.

    1. Photo of the weekend!

    2. Now that’s a legend!

  2. Relieved to hear that everyone is okay. It could have been much worse.

  3. I hear McLaren have offered any help with equipment etc that Williams might need. Nice. If I was Frank, I might kindly ask if they had any spare chassis, bodywork, wings, engines, gearboxes etc lying around… ;)

    1. Spare Chassis? Hell no! They finished 8th and 9th with it. He better stick to his own chassis ;-)

      1. I heard Ferrari offered them a car, but they turned it down…

        Less jokingly, I hope their effort at Monaco isn’t compromised. It’s the last place you want to be short of spares, and I’ve been looking forward to seeing what Williams can do there – Pastor and Senna have both been brilliant there in GP2 (and Maldonado for much of last year’s Grand Prix).

        1. Eleanore (@leucocrystal)
          15th May 2012, 1:32

          I really loved the battle Pastor and Senna had for the Monaco feature race in GP2 2008, and I agree, it would be great to see them both get some great results there again. It still seems a bit unclear just how much work Williams will have to do to provide a functional race car for Bruno within two weeks, but I really hope they can get it done. I’d imagine they lost quite a bit of data in the fire as well, not just equipment.

    2. Hope they are not borrowing McLaren’s wheel guns…

  4. It’s really good to see F1 come together, especially when some people are critical of the teams not being able to be cohesive.

    Is there any news on what actually started the fire yet? I’ve heard rumours, but nothing solid yet.

    1. @jamiefranklinf1 Initially people thought it was a KERS issue because of the terrible smoke but it was down to fuel ignition. Exactly what happened we don’t know but I expect there will be a statement from the police in the near future.

  5. I thought this picture of one of the SKYF1 crew pulling a Williams team member out of the garage a great image, glad no one was badly hurt.

    1. Grrrr never mind, why i can’t i post links?

      1. jsw11984 (@jarred-walmsley)
        14th May 2012, 22:03

        I believe you have to use a link shortner, then just post the URL

  6. I think it is shows the general kindness and braveness in the F1 paddock that several other teams came immediately to help, true heros.

  7. The Money (@pamphlett31220)
    15th May 2012, 0:40

    If Williams have found some genuine pace and Spain wasn’t just a one off, then they may well be celebrating again in 2 weeks time, both Senna and Maldonaldo have good GP2 results from previous monaco races….you never know..especially the way this season is going!.

  8. Sir Frank is right off course, it really is a lovely season so far with great on track action and showing how the Teams do fight, but are sticking together when its really important.

  9. After reading that article about how Malodonado’s victory was hailed by both sides of the political divide in Venezuela, and saw the picture of him carrying his cousin from the fire, I thought about his chances of following fellow F1 drivers Reuterman and Pace (and football star Pele) into politics in due time.
    I guess that picture would then be posted with a caption like “will he take Venezuela out of the fire as well?“.

    1. Pastor Norris

  10. It is obvious that the cause of the fire is connected with the celebration of the Williams team. It will be interesting to see what the investigation finds out.

    1. How is it obvious? My initial thought was that it’s because of damage from the Schumacher hit.

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