Norris assesses McLaren fire impact on race win bid after 'stressful day'

Lando Norris feels his pre-race preparations in his bid to win the Spanish Grand Prix could be impacted following the fire that took hold in McLaren's paddock motorhome at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya.

An electrical fault is understood to have been the cause behind the fire that occurred shortly before the start of final practice, and which resulted in an evacuation of the building.

One McLaren team member was taken to hospital as a precaution and for checks but has now been discharged.

On track, Norris delivered the ideal tonic by scoring the second pole position of his F1 career, pipping Max Verstappen by two-hundredths of a second at the end of another pulsating qualifying session.

Reflecting on the traumatic events earlier in the day, speaking to media, including RacingNews365, Norris said: "The best thing we can say is that everyone is doing well, so that’s the best news from everything. One person was taken to hospital for some check-ups but all good otherwise.

"So a bit of a scare for the whole team. It's never a nice thing, and just a bit more of a stressful day than I would have liked. I lost my shoes and that was as bad as it got for me, honestly.

"I've not been in my normal room, I've not been able to relax and chill out as much as I’d normally do. I had offers from a lot of people so it’s been great! A lot of the teams have been very nice to us at McLaren and offering help, so all good from that side.

"But a shame it [the team building] won’t be used today or tomorrow, and maybe not into the future."

McLaren has confirmed it is continuing to assess the damage. The regular media debrief with team principal Andrea Stella that takes place in the facility post-qualifying was cancelled.

As to the personal impact upon Norris, he feels the build-up to the race will not be as comfortable as he is accustomed to, but he is confident he will be able to push any issues to one side.

"It’s all been a little bit messy," he assessed. "I have one or two sets of everything, and they managed to get some stuff out, but some of it is not the best to use, or smells pretty bad from the fire.

"Some things I got out, but I like to listen to my music and stuff. Oscar [Piastri] complains a lot because my music is so loud pre sessions, but I just didn’t have that this time.

"I’m in the engineering office and Oscar is in the truck below. Zak’s office I’ve taken over," referring to CEO Brown, "so Zak’s a bit unhappy. But nothing’s been an issue, and I'm never been the kind of guy to complain about these things.

"Honestly, I could just be doing nothing and jump in the car when I need to, but when you have an opportunity to have a few minutes to yourself, then you take it because you want to relax and think to yourself for a few minutes before you go out and do it.

"Nothing for today, maybe tomorrow it’ll impact me a bit more that I can’t get that quiet time I love, but it’s not the end of the world so I'm not going to complain about it."

The FIA has confirmed that Brown has taken up temporary residence in the office of president Mohammed Ben Sulayem in the FIA motorhome.