Formula E pre-season testing stopped after huge explosion in team garage

24 October 2023 , 12:52

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Smoke could be seen billowing from one of the garages

A huge fire broke out in the Williams garage at Formula E's pre-season testing in Valencia on Tuesday. The blaze started in the Williams garage, who supply the batteries for the series, at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo after a loud bang was heard.

One man was quickly taken to the medical centre for checks after seeming to suffer from smoke inhalation and potential burns. However, he is believed to have avoided any serious harm.

Team members were seen fleeing from the garages shouting "get out, get out" as the fire, thought to be from a battery explosion, took hold. Fire services raced to the scene but couldn't stop huge clouds of black smoke covering the surrounding area.

Around 3,000 Formula E staff members, teams and journalists were on site for the first day of the pre-season test when the incident happened. The fire broke out after the cars returned to the garage following the first three-hour session on track.

A statement from Formula E said: "In a break between practice sessions, a fire was detected in the pit lane and garage area which has been contained.

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"The on-track Incident Response Team acted immediately to contain the incident while the main pit building and garages were quickly evacuated.One person has been assessed by medics and has been transported to hospital for precautionary checks.Formula E, the FIA and local fire authorities are investigating the cause and will provide a further update in due course."

Fire crews attended the scene quickly (Aaron Flanagan)

A witness said: "There was a huge bang and everyone started running from the garages. We couldn't believe how quickly it escalated, there were people sprinting away, others tried to run back but couldn't because of the smoke. We were evacuated from the pit lane really quickly."

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Kit Mann