McLaren is using a rental facility for the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix as clean-up work continues on the motorhome damaged by last week’s fire in Spain.
A suspected electrical issue sparked a blaze in Barcelona on Saturday morning that required local emergency crews to put out. Although all team members were evacuated from the motorhome without any injuries while the fire was being put out, with one individual requiring precautionary hospital checks for smoke inhalation, the motorhome was taken offline for the remainder of the race weekend.
Despite cleaning attempts already carried out on site in Barcelona, the facility has since been sent back to Germany for further maintenance and deep cleaning.
Work is underway this week to try to get it up and running again, with the hope that it will be ready for next weekend’s British Grand Prix. If it fails to get back up and running in time for Silverstone, the facility should still be ready for one of the races before the summer break.
Meanwhile, McLaren is using a hospitality facility rented from German company Schuler, which provides its engineering base, known as the Performance Centre, during race weekends.
Camper McLaren
Photo credit: Jon Noble
Although the temporary hospitality is smaller than a traditional motorhome, the smaller number of guests for the Austrian GP compared to other races means McLaren will be able to get through the weekend with minimal disruption. The facility has space for engineers and can accommodate mechanics when needed.
Drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have moved their rooms to the Performance Centre, where team principal Andrea Stella also has his office.
F1’s welcome response
While F1 is super competitive on the track, Stella praised the spirit of his rivals off the circuit for the way they came together to help his team in Spain.
With the help of other teams and the FIA, who have lent facilities or spaces for team staff and guests, Stella said he was amazed at how everyone else in the paddock has rallied to lend their support.
“The assistance, solidarity, sympathy and support we received from all the other teams, from F1 and the FIA gave us, I think, a real emotion. We were moved.”
“I was talking to another member of the team about the sense of community we have in this paddock and the fact that sometimes we forget about it because we are here to compete with each other,” explained the McLaren Team Principal.
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