McLaren was made to evacuate its Formula 1 hospitality prior to the third and final F1 Spanish Grand Prix practice session getting underway after a fire broke out.
The situation developed less than an hour before the start of FP3, with McLaren personnel acting swiftly to ensure all persons inside the hospitality were evacuated before the fire spread.
The local fire and ambulance crew quickly attended the scene to quell the fire.
“This morning we evacuated our Team Hub paddock hospitality unit following a fire alert, the team has been safely evacuated while the local fire brigade handle the issue,” read a McLaren statement.
The hospitality centre sustained damage but luckily nobody among the McLaren team was seriously injured and the fire was put out swiftly.
However, there were some fire safety personnel who were escorted by paramedics away from the scene to be treated for smoke inhalation.
Motorsport Week understands that two of those afflicted weren’t in serious condition, but two more were being treated as serious.
According to Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, who spoke with the McLaren leadership team, the fire broke out from the kitchen area of the McLaren hospitality, but smoke quickly spread to the top floor before funnelling down to the ground floor area, prompting the swift evacuation.
Both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris’ preparation for Free Practice 3 was unaffected and both McLaren drivers made it out to start the session.
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