Amidst Lando Norris’ Glory, McLaren F1 CEO Zak Brown Sends Endearing Message to Team’s Biggest Saviors at Spanish GP

Saying that it was a hectic day for McLaren would not do justice to the roller coaster of emotions Zak Brown has been through. From having a fire in their hospitality suits to achieving the pole position at the Spanish Grand Prix, a lot is going on for Brown. Although the fire was extinguished and no one was harmed, several people were treated for smoke inhalation. The fire was contained by the marshals as the emergency services attended to the guests, avoiding a grave mishap.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were among the staff and guests to escape the fire. Despite the fire breaking out, no one was seriously harmed, although it was later reported that one of the McLaren members had been taken to the hospital as a precaution. In the end, the fire marshals handled the situation extremely well preventing the fire from spreading. After the fire was controlled, and Norris took pole position, Zak Brown took to Instagram to thank everyone who helped during the incident that could have turned out much worse.

Zak Brown commends the brave teams that helped avoid a massive disaster

Zak Brown prioritized the events that he needed to be grateful for today. While attaining a pole start in a race is the best possible outcome from a qualifier round, the fact that everyone was safe during the fire breakout was the focus of his message. After the qualifiers were concluded, instead of rushing to social media to celebrate the pole position, Brown decided to thank everyone for averting a major disaster.

The McLaren boss took to Instagram to say, “A big thank you to the marshals and emergency services at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for their response to the fire we experienced in our team hub today.” After investigation, it was stated that it was an electrical fire that broke out in their motorhome above the kitchen. Extending his gratitude to everyone else who helped and supported the team Brown stated, “I also want to thank F1, the FIA, and our competitors for their offers of assistance to our team and guests over this weekend. Great example of the fiercest competition on track, strong community off it.” 

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that a fire has broken out at the Circuit de Catalunya during an F1 weekend, as Williams faced a similar problem in 2012. Just like other teams decided to help with the guests that were to stay at the hospitality suite, the Papaya team was the one to help Williams back in the day. Let’s see how McLaren lent a hand.

How did McLaren help Williams during the 2012 paddock fire?

Competition is only fun when it’s fair, and most athletes would agree to that. Formula 1 is a community like Brown said in his statement and that has been noticed from McLaren in the past. Back when a fire broke out during the celebration of Pastor Maldonado’s Spanish Grand Prix victory in 2012, McLaren’s previous management went out of their way to help Williams.

To make sure that the fire was not a reason why the team could not compete, McLaren was ready to lend a hand in replacing any damaged equipment that Williams needed to go racing in the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix. This included technical and operational support to ensure Williams could continue their racing activities without major interruptions. McLaren had several key personnel, including technical director Paddy Lowe, director of design and development Neil Oatley, and sporting director Sam Michael, who previously worked for Williams.

Their experience and understanding of Williams’ operations were invaluable in providing targeted and effective assistance. The papaya army, along with other teams and Formula One personnel, helped battle the fire using extinguishers before emergency services arrived. This helped the fire stay in control until emergency services arrived. Unfortunately unlike this year, there were victims of burns back in 2012 with one teammate being hospitalized.  A total of 31 people had to be treated for injuries and smoke inhalation.