One employee still in hospital after fire

FORMULA ONE Williams Formula One team said one employee remains in the hospital after suffering burns on Sunday in a garage …

FORMULA ONEWilliams Formula One team said one employee remains in the hospital after suffering burns on Sunday in a garage fire following the Spanish Grand Prix. Two employees were released from facilities in Spain after getting treatment for smoke inhalation, the team said yesterday. The injured staff member will be transfered to the UK in the next two days, Williams said.

Thirty-one people required medical attention after the fire engulfed the team’s garage as staff celebrated Pastor Maldonado’s breakthrough victory in Spain. The incident marred what was Williams’s first race victory since Juan Pablo Montoya took the checkered flag at the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2004.

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

The blaze broke out an hour after the race. Seven people were transferred to local hospitals. The cause is still under investigation.