Two days after the disastrous fire which tore through the Williams garages after they won the Spanish Grand Prix, and the final mechanic who was badly burned during the incident has finally returned home to England to receive further medical care. The Williams team are still working with local authorities to try to ascertain the cause of the fire.
Whilst the team were celebrating their 114th victory during the aftermath of Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix, the rear of the garage suddenly caught fire and spread with frightening speed, engulfing the pits and paddock in acrid black smoke. Whilst the flames were quelled in around 3 minutes, 31 team members were taken to the circuits medial facilities with burns and/or smoke inhalation related injuries.
"There were a number of people who attended the circuit medical centre, mostly as the result of smoke inhalation," said Mark Gillan, Williams’ chief operations engineer. “One team member remains in hospital having suffered burns, but he is in a stable condition and in good spirits and has returned to England today for further medical care. Investigations into the actual cause of the fire are ongoing and are being performed in collaboration with the local authorities and the FIA. The extent of the damage is still being accessed and will not become fully clear until both the cars and equipment have returned to the factory. What is clear is that our garage IT equipment and infrastructure have been badly damaged."
With the next Grand Prix on the Streets of Monaco only days away, Williams are aware that lots of work will need to be carried out prior to the event. Many teams, most notably McLaren, have offered Williams assistance for the Monaco Grand Prix, however Williams will still face an uphill challenge to be fully prepared for what will be the 71st running of the Monaco Grand Prix.
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