Team member hospitalized after fire in McLaren hospitality hub

McLaren’s preparation for the Spanish Grand Prix was disrupted by a fire in its hospitality unit on Saturday ahead of FP3 that resulted in one team member being taken to hospital. A suspected electrical fire broke out between floors in the team’s …

McLaren’s preparation for the Spanish Grand Prix was disrupted by a fire in its hospitality unit on Saturday ahead of FP3 that resulted in one team member being taken to hospital.

A suspected electrical fire broke out between floors in the team’s hospitality unit around half an hour before the final practice session, leading to the evacuation of everyone inside. A number of nearby personnel — including Pirelli motorsport boss Mario Isola, who is a part-time ambulance driver in Milan — rushed into the unit with fire extinguishers before the fire services arrived.

The area was cleared as the source was investigated and the fire eventually extinguished, with one team member taken to hospital as a precaution.

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Although the situation was still being dealt with as FP3 began, the operational side of the race team was largely unaffected and could participate in final practice, with the race suits of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri retrieved quickly after they were evacuated along with the rest of the team prior to getting ready for the session.

“This morning a fire was detected in our trackside team hub,” a McLaren statement read. “The team hub was evacuated of all staff and guests, and circuit emergency services attended the scene within minutes. The circuit emergency services and local fire department have since extinguished the fire.

“One McLaren team member has been taken to hospital as a precaution, and all McLaren personnel and guests are accounted for.

“We would like to thank all the marshals and emergency services for their quick and professional response. We would also like to thank Formula 1, the FIA and our competitors who have offered to help our team and guests this weekend.”

Sainz tops final Spanish GP practice

Qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix is too close to call after Carlos Sainz headed a gaggle of five drivers and four teams split by just 0.151s in Barcelona. But the session was colored by two moments of road rage that will see Charles Leclerc and …

Qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix is too close to call after Carlos Sainz headed a gaggle of five drivers and four teams split by just 0.151s in Barcelona.

But the session was colored by two moments of road rage that will see Charles Leclerc and Lance Stroll face grid penalties for collisions with Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton respectively.

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Sainz set the benchmark at 1m 13.013s in the final eight minutes of the session, pipping McLaren’s Lando Norris by just 0.03s.

Norris, however, could almost certainly have gone faster. The Briton set his fastest lap earlier in the session and on a set of soft tires that had already been used for aborted flying lap.

He also dipped a wheel into the stones exiting Turn 12, further compromising a lap that otherwise likely would have seen him secure top spot.

Leclerc completed the top three just 0.007s behind Norris, the Monegasque radioing his team that the car felt like “it’s a good step forward” after a tricky Friday.

Max Verstappen slotted into fourth and 0.074s off the pace, while George Russell completed a five-driver, four-team top five at 0.151s off the pace.

The super tight session was marred by two incidents of bizarre road rage, with Leclerc and Norris as well as Stroll and Hamilton all set to see the stewards after the session.

Leclerc and Norris came together exiting Turn 5. The McLaren driver, on a slow-down lap, pulled to the left of the road to allow the Ferrari to sweep past, but Leclerc, apparently incensed, cut across to make what looked like deliberate contact.

Norris suspected his car was damaged in the incident. It was oddly reminiscent of an incident between Stroll and Hamilton earlier in the hour.

Hamilton had been caught unawares by the fast-approaching Stroll entering Turn 5 and, upon spotting the Aston Martin car, pulled to the very edge of the track on the right-hand side.

Stroll, having already slowed to avoid contact, appeared to open his steering to tag the left of the Mercedes before accelerating away.

Hamilton continued the session, finishing sixth and 0.346s off the pace, almost all of which came from a snap of oversteer in the final sector.

Sergio Perez was well off the pace of the leading sextet, lapping 0.71s slower than Sainz to finish the session seventh ahead of Alex Albon and Fernando Alonso.

Oscar Piastri was separated from the lead group after running wide exiting Turn 12 on his fastest lap. The error cost him around 0.6s to Sainz; he finished 0.894s off the pace.

Alpine teammates Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly slid out of the top 10 to finish 11th and 12th ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas and Kevin Magnussen.

Daniel Ricciardo led the way for an RB team still looking for pace from its major upgrade, finishing 16th ahead of Stroll, Yuki Tsunoda, Zhou Guanyu and Logan Sargeant.

Ferrari expects similar step forward from Spanish GP upgrade

Ferrari’s new upgrade package that it has introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix is similar in expected performance gain to the step it introduced in Imola, according to senior performance engineer Jock Clear. A major upgrade for Imola put Ferrari in …

A major upgrade for Imola put Ferrari in the mix for pole position and the victory, while Charles Leclerc followed up with a win in Monaco the following week. At Barcelona the team has brought an increased sidepod and engine cover undercut, changes to the floor fences, floor body and floor edge, a reworked diffuser and tweaks to the halo, and Clear says the targeted performance improvement is along the same lines.

“I’d say it’s similar,” Clear said. “When we quantify an upgrade, we’re only talking performance — that’s what it’s all about at the end of the day. We could talk some interesting numbers that the aero department produce, but how much lap time it produces is always our measure.

“We’ve spoken in the past about how subtle some of the effects on air are, certainly at the back of the car. And this was in parallel with Imola, so this isn’t a reaction to Imola, if you see what I mean — this isn’t the upgrade from Imola and then we look at what it did. This was always a scheduled upgrade that’s in parallel.

“So the fact we’re bringing it here, as long as it performs as we expect — and in the recent past we’ve had very good correlation, so we have no reason to believe it won’t — again, that’s good confirmation we understand what’s going on on this car.

“We didn’t have to wait for the Imola package and say, ‘OK, what did that do? Now we go in this route,’ We knew what the Imola package would do, and it did what it should do. In parallel we were also looking at the next step beyond that, and that’s what you see here.”

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With the upgrade targeting similar areas as the one introduced in Imola as well, Clear says there was a concerted push to bring it to Spain for the first race of a European tripleheader of consecutive race weekends.

“It was somewhat fast-tracked. I’ve said before, Barcelona is a fantastic circuit to evaluate a car. So if you can, you’re always going to want to come to Barcelona with a package — that’s why we do pre-season [testing] here. And as a result of doing pre-season, we’ve got so much experience here that it levels all of the other variables for us and you get a good read on a package.

“So it’s always a good place to come. I think honestly, because the Imola package was a good step, I think maybe this was scheduled for later — this tripleheader offers you three good opportunities. Austria and Silverstone are also very good.

“But yeah, we did push it forward a bit, just because it’s super close at the moment and if you can come one race earlier, actually the gains are doubled, effectively. Because it’s always a race, isn’t it? It’s not just what our upgrades are doing, it’s what other people are doing. And if we can just get an upgrade one step earlier than the others, then you carry that forward a bit.”

Hamilton to the front in second Spanish GP practice

Lewis Hamilton topped a tight second practice session at the Spanish Grand Prix that featured three different constructors in the top three separated by less than 0.1s. Hamilton, a six-time winner in Barcelona, set the benchmark at 1m13.264s in his …

Lewis Hamilton topped a tight second practice session at the Spanish Grand Prix that featured three different constructors in the top three separated by less than 0.1s.

Hamilton, a six-time winner in Barcelona, set the benchmark at 1m13.264s in his revised Mercedes, pipping Carlos Sainz’s heavily updated Ferrari by just 0.022s.

First session pacesetter Lando Norris completed the top three for McLaren, 0.055s off the pace, the Briton’s only problem being a run-in with the curbs that he suspected could have caused him some floor damage in the final 10 minutes.

Pierre Gasly was an impressive fourth for the backmarker Alpine team, taking his car to within 0.179s.

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Max Verstappen didn’t feature among the leaders on a difficult afternoon for Red Bull Racing, which struggled with balance before the soft-tire runs early in the session.

“The car is loose in the exits in general,” he radioed his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. “Still just weird understeer mid-corner. This car doesn’t bite.”

The Dutchman was again quickest in the rapid first sector, but he hemorrhaged time through the middle split and couldn’t recover through the final third of the lap, leaving him 0.24s adrift of Hamilton and in need of answers overnight.

Teammate Sergio Perez, whose poor performance have become something of a bellwether for Red Bull Racing’s struggles, was far further adrift. The Mexican, who has pinned this weekend’s race as the round at which he’ll resurrect his season, ended the day 13th and 0.817s off the pace, although he lost time earlier in the session to an apparent technical problem that kept him garaged.

Charles Leclerc lacked the pace of his Ferrari teammate, leaving him sixth and 0.333s off top spot, with Oscar Piastri and George Russell following him in the order.

Esteban Ocon was ninth and half a second off the pace despite being equipped with the marginally lighter and therefore nominally faster Alpine chassis, which is rotating between the team’s two drivers, having been with Gasly up until now.

Valtteri Bottas completed the top 10 on a difficult day for Sauber, with Zhou Guanyu heading for an early shower in the final 10 minutes of the session, the Chinese driver ending the day 17th.

Haas teammates Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg — the latter taking back his car from Ferrari reserve driver and presumed replacement candidate Oliver Bearman — finished 11th and 12th ahead of Perez, Fernando Alonso and a tightly matched Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo, who were separated by just 0.046s.

Zhou was an early retirement in 17th ahead of Lance Stroll and Williams duo Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant.

Norris tops first Spanish GP practice

Lando Norris led the way in the first practice at the Spanish Grand Prix ahead of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz. Norris spent the majority of his 27 laps on the hard tire, but a three-lap blast on softs just after the halfway point set the …

Lando Norris led the way in the first practice at the Spanish Grand Prix ahead of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz.

Norris spent the majority of his 27 laps on the hard tire, but a three-lap blast on softs just after the halfway point set the benchmark at 1m14.228s. The McLaren driver’s improvement pipped the Red Bull man’s best time by 0.024s, the Dutchman ceding time in the first sector but setting quickest times in the second two splits.

Verstappen — who spent most of the hour on the soft tire — complained that clutch problems kept dipping his car into anti-stall late in the hour, though it appeared to do little to limit his time on track.

Sainz led the way in a mixed session for Ferrari, lapping 0.344s off the pace but faring considerably better than teammate Charles Leclerc, who suffered a litany of issues on his way to 11th in the order.

The Monegasque started the session with a big tail wag that flirted dangerously close with stones exiting turn 12. “The car is horrendous now,” he subsequently told his team.

A later run had him come perilously close to clattering into the back of Lance Stroll at Turn 10, and on his return to pit lane he reported a problem with his clutch.

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George Russell edged Sergio Perez to fourth by 0.078s, while Oscar Piastri slotted into a distant sixth, ending the hour 0.693s off the pace after a brief red flag prevented him from completing his flying lap on fresh softs.

The red flag was caused by Fernando Alonso, whose car shed part of its front wing running over the curbs exiting the long Turn 9. The Spaniard ended the hour ninth behind Lewis Hamilton and Esteban Ocon, the Frenchman running Alpine’s lighter chassis for the first time this year and the last driver within a second of Norris’s headline time.

Alex Albon completed the top 10 for Williams ahead of Leclerc, Valtteri Bottas and Pierre Gasly.

Stroll was 14th ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in his heavily upgraded RB car. The Australian was 0.036s quicker than Zhou Guanyu, who was using an old-spec chassis in a troubleshooting mission for his Sauber team.

Kevin Magnussen ended the hour 17th ahead of Logan Sargeant, the American at long last running the same specification Williams as teammate Albon.

Oliver Bearman took control of Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas car for the second of his six FP1 appearances this year to finish 19th on the time sheet ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, who was restricted to 21 laps after a technical problem with his RB car early and who had his flying lap on softs spoiled by the timing of the red flag.

Technical updates: 2024 Spanish Grand Prix

Ferrari continues its upgrade push with another new package at the Spanish Grand Prix, while there are also subtle evolutions at Red Bull. Imola saw a major Ferrari upgrade introduced and the team has wasted no time in following that with …

Ferrari continues its upgrade push with another new package at the Spanish Grand Prix, while there are also subtle evolutions at Red Bull.

Imola saw a major Ferrari upgrade introduced and the team has wasted no time in following that with developments of a similar size in terms of expected performance gain just three rounds later. The latest package includes an increased sidepod and engine cover undercut, changes to the floor fences, floor body and floor edge, a reworked diffuser and tweaks to the halo.

Ferrari also has a change to its rear wing that it says is circuit specific, offering higher levels of downforce.

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Red Bull follows a similar approach in terms of some circuit specific updates, with cooling part of the focus as it has revised its sidepod inlet, engine cover and floor body. The floor change is to accommodate the engine cover and sidepod inlet tweaks, but the team also has a new beam wing and rear wing endplate that focuses solely on performance.

Mercedes and McLaren say they have no new parts in Spain, but Aston Martin has developed upgraded its front suspension fairings, front brake ducts and rear corner to increase load.

Williams is another team — along with Alpine — that claims to have no upgrades, but the team has previously stated it has introducing weight-saving measures in Barcelona, with both cars at a similar specification following weeks of only Alex Albon running with the latest parts.

RB is following Ferrari’s approach with another package, bringing an updated engine cover, side inlet, floor body and rear wing, alongside front brake duct cooling changes and a lower downforce beam wing option.

Stake has evolved its front brake duct exits for both aerodynamic flow and cooling, while there is also a new rear wing being tested, and at Haas a small winglet on the rear impact structure is intended to produce a marginal increase in local load.

Verstappen doesn’t expect Red Bull domination to resume in Spain

Max Verstappen believes Red Bull will not have the performance advantage it enjoyed earlier this season at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, despite a return to a permanent circuit. Red Bull has come under pressure on street tracks and venues that …

Max Verstappen believes Red Bull will not have the performance advantage it enjoyed earlier this season at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, despite a return to a permanent circuit.

Red Bull has come under pressure on street tracks and venues that require cars to be able to ride curbs in certain sections, with Lando Norris winning in Miami and getting within a second of victory before Charles Leclerc won in Monaco and Verstappen came out on top in a four-way battle in Canada. The expectation has been that the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya’s layout will suit Red Bull again, but the championship leader is predicting the field will still be closer than the opening rounds.

“No, I don’t think it will be like the beginning of the season,” Verstappen said. “But we know that normally this is a track our car should suit a bit more, and we’re excited, of course. I’m aware that everyone has been catching up a lot, everyone is quite confident, but if you compare this to the last few races that we have done, this should be a better track.”

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With the external expectation on Red Bull, Verstappen says the team still needs to execute effectively but should also not be overly worried if it doesn’t have a perfect weekend and comes under pressure again from the chasing pack.

“It’s difficult to say. People are constantly improving, and sometimes you just have a better weekend than others with the way you set up the car,” he said. “Because at the end of the day, you can bring upgrades but if you don’t put the right setup on the car… I mean, look at F2 right? The same [spec] car, but there’s still a big difference in teams and operations. So also there, you can make mistakes.

“That’s what we need to get right. Normally, naturally this car should suit the track a bit better. But still we need to make sure it’s in the right balance window.”

Verstappen denied that the improvements by competitors have increased pressure on the world champions.

“It’s not tension. We always want to do well, and we also know that other people are pushing flat out,” he said. “We just need to make sure we have a good weekend like we always want to have. Let’s say it doesn’t go to plan, let’s not go overboard, right? We just keep working and keep trying to be better. There’s still so many races where you could score a good amount of points. But of course, here we really want to do well.”

Racing on TV, June 21-23

All times Eastern; live broadcasts unless noted. Friday, June 21 Spanish GP practice 1 7:25-8:30am Melbourne 8:00-9:00am (D) Spanish GP practice 2 10:55am- 12:00pm Watkins Glen race 1 3:10-4:00pm Loudon qualifying 4:00-5:30pm Watkins Glen race 1 …

All times Eastern; live broadcasts unless noted.

Friday, June 21

	Spanish GP practice 1	7:25-8:30am
	Melbourne	8:00-9:00am (D)
	Spanish GP practice 2	10:55am- 12:00pm
	Watkins Glen race 1	3:10-4:00pm
	Loudon qualifying	4:00-5:30pm
	Watkins Glen race 1	4:15-5:00pm
	Laguna Seca practice 1	5:00-6:15pm
	Watkins Glen race 1	5:15-6:10pm
	Mid-Ohio	6:00-8:00pm

Saturday, June 22

	Spanish GP practice 3	6:25-7:30am
	Watkins Glen race 2	8:00-8:50am
	Spanish GP qualifying	9:55-11:00am
	Watkins Glen race 2	10:55- 11:40am
	Loudon qualifying	12:30-2:30pm
	Mid-Ohio TA2	12:40-1:55pm
	Watkins Glen	12:50-3:00pm
	Laguna Seca practice 2	1:00-2:00pm
	Virginia qualifying 1	1:00-2:00pm (D)
	Loudon	3:00-3:30pm pre-race 3:30-6:30pm race
	Laguna Seca race 1	3:25-4:40pm
	Watkins Glen qualifying	3:25-4:30pm
	Laguna Seca qualifying	5:15- 6:45pm

Sunday, June 23

	Spanish GP	7:30-8:55am pre-race 8:55-11:00am race
	Watkins Glen	11:00am- 2:00pm
	Watkins Glen	11:00am- 5:30pm
	Mid-Ohio TA	12:40-1:55pm
	Virginia qualifying 2	1:00-2:00pm (D)
	Loudon	2:00-2:30pm pre-race 2:30-6:00pm race
	Laguna Seca warmup	3:00-3:30pm
	Laguna Seca race 2	3:55-5:10pm
	Watkins Glen race 2	4:50-5:45pm
	Virginia Finals	5:00-8:00pm (SDD)
	Laguna Seca	6:00-6:30pm pre-race 6:30-9:00pm race

Key: SDD: Same day delay; D = delayed; R = Replay

MotoGP is now airing live on TruTV and Max’s B/R Sports Add-On. Check your streaming provider for air times

A variety of motor racing is available for streaming on demand at the following sites:

MAVTV.com

MotorTrendOnDemand.com

Madrid doesn’t mean end for Barcelona – Domenicali

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says the confirmation of Madrid as the host of the Spanish Grand Prix from 2026 onwards does not mean Barcelona will definitely drop off the calendar. Madrid was announced as becoming the home of the Spanish race …

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says the confirmation of Madrid as the host of the Spanish Grand Prix from 2026 onwards does not mean Barcelona will definitely drop off the calendar.

Madrid was announced as becoming the home of the Spanish race from 2026 until 2035 inclusive on Tuesday morning, building a part-street circuit around the IFEMA Madrid events and exhibition venue. While the first year of the contract clashes with the final year of the deal to race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Domenicali says the current host could still remain on the schedule.

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“For the avoidance of doubt and to clarify here, the fact we are in Madrid is not excluding the fact we could stay in Barcelona for the future,” Domenicali said. “Looking ahead, there are discussions in place to see if we can really extend our collaboration with Barcelona, with whom we have a very good relationship, for the future.”

Domenicali says the long-term deal for Madrid allows it to invest heavily in a large event, with a promise of creating a capacity of 140,000 by the mid-point of the ten-year contract.

“It’s great news for Formula 1 as it shows once again that there is strong appetite around the world for our sport. It shows that at a moment where Europe is perceived to be a place that is not ready to invest in our sport, Madrid and others are showing it is.

“They have presented a fascinating project, one that will be built in the next couple of years and a project that is considering the fans and their whole experience, from their travel to the whole event experience. The proposition we received from the promoter was great. Since the first day, it has been an open discussion of what this event can be.

“I’m very pleased that it’s a deal that takes us to 2035 – it’s a long time. This is the objective as F1, with either new or more established promoters. It allows everyone involved to plan the future and invest in the future as it is a guarantee for the promoter, for our partners, for our teams and for our sport. It gives everyone long-term visibility.

“If you look at the past, the renewals were two years, three years or five years maximum. Now all our new deals are going in the direction of being very long. And if they are short, there is a reason.”

The F1 boss adds the interest from so many venues gives him a welcome challenge of trying to balance demand with the calendar.

“Spain was a market that just a couple of years ago, was not in the centre of our eyes. Now it is very important. We signed a new deal with Spanish broadcaster DAZN until at least the end of 2026.

“It’s a nice problem to have, to have multiple cities – some in the same country – wanting to host a grand prix. It shows the value of our proposition. But we need to keep focused on the reason for our success and make sure we aren’t complacent.”

F1 to race in Madrid from 2026

Formula 1 has announced the Spanish Grand Prix will move to Madrid from 2026, taking place on a semi-permanent track within the Spanish capital. Barcelona has been home to the race since 1991, and currently has a contract through 2026 after …

Formula 1 has announced the Spanish Grand Prix will move to Madrid from 2026, taking place on a semi-permanent track within the Spanish capital.

Barcelona has been home to the race since 1991, and currently has a contract through 2026 after committing to track upgrades at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. However, that deal now appears uncertain as discussions about its future continue following confirmation the Spanish GP will move to Madrid, returning to the region for the first time since 1981 when the grand prix used to be held at Jarama.

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The new race will be held around the IFEMA exhibition and events venue to the northeast of the city center, with the track stretching to 5.47km and promised to be a mix of both street and non-street sections. The yet-to-be finalized layout will incorporate 20 turns with a projected qualifying lap of 1m32s.

Race organizers are targeting an initial capacity of 110,000 spectators per day, rising to 140,000 during the ten-year contract to become one of the larger venues on the F1 calendar. F1 predicts that 90% of fans will be able to reach the circuit via public transport due to the connections with rail and metro lines and its close proximity to the city’s main airport.

“Madrid is an incredible city with amazing sporting and cultural heritage, and today’s announcement begins an exciting new chapter for F1 in Spain,” F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said.

“I would like to thank the team at IFEMA MADRID, the Regional Government of Madrid and the city’s Mayor for putting together a fantastic proposal that epitomizes Formula 1’s vision to create a multi-day spectacle of sport and entertainment that maximizes values for fans, whilst embracing innovation and sustainability.”

The president of the region of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, says the arrival of the race will have a major economic impact.

“It is with great satisfaction that we announce Formula 1 is coming to the Community of Madrid, to a region and a capital that inspires openness and confidence within and beyond our borders,” Díaz Ayuso said. “We are the main engine of Spain’s prosperity and progress. This event, which we expect to be followed on a global scale by 70 million people, will represent an increase of more than 450 million euros in Madrid’s GDP per year and the creation of 8,200 jobs.

“The Community of Madrid is a region with a great international projection, open, plural and competitive, and F1 will contribute to further consolidate the Madrid brand among the best in the world.”

Should Barcelona still host a race in 2026 it will not be the first time Spain has held two grands prix in the same year, as Valencia was also part of the calendar at the height of Fernando Alonso’s popularity from 2008 until 2012.