FORMULA 1 motor racing boss Frank Williams has paid tribute to firefighters who tackled a blaze at his team’s headquarters and prevented tens of millions of pounds of damage.

To thank them for bringing the blaze under control, he gave the fire crew from Wantage a tour of the Williams team’s factory, in Grove.

The blaze, which is believed to have been caused by a machine malfunction in the factory’s metal work department, happened during the afternoon of July 2. At the time, two multi-million pound F1 cars were at the factory, which is also home to the company’s wind tunnels, worth tens of millions of pounds, which are used to test the cars’ areodynamics.

The crew were quickly on the scene and put out the fire with minimal damage.

Mr Williams, whose company has since made a donation to the Fire Fighters Charity, said: “I’m sure I’m like everyone else, whether at home or in their places of work, who takes for granted the skill and courage of the firefighters that we rely on when a fire breaks out.

“The local crew handled our recent incident at the factory promptly and efficiently.

“Due to their efforts, no-one was hurt.

“The damage to the factory was minimal and we suffered almost no downtime in getting back to work.

“I can only commend their professionalism.”

Simon Belcher, station manager at Wantage Fire Station, and David Etheridge, the deputy chief fire officer of Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, collected a cheque on behalf of the charity, Mr Etheridge said: “I would like to express our gratitude for the donation to the Fire Fighters Charity.

“The fire and rescue service would also wish Williams the very best for the rest of the season.”

Williams-Toyota are currently sixth in the Formula 1 constructors’ championship, on 34.5 points.

Driver Nico Rosberg has secured all their points and is in seventh place in the drivers’ championship. His colleague Kazuki Nakajima has yet to score this season.

The team is currently preparing for the final race of the 2009 season, in Abu Dhabi on November 1.