Haas team boss Guenther Steiner admits that he was left frustrated by Mick Schumacher’s crash that occurred after the chequered flag on Friday afternoon in Suzuka.
The Haas driver lost control of his car between turns seven and eight on a wet part of the track, causing him to aquaplane off the circuit and into the barriers.
He was subsequently ruled out of FP2 for a chassis change.
“Yeah it’s disappointing,” Steiner told F1TV. “We just went out for the race start to get data for Sunday and then on the way in from the race start Mick crashed the car, he aquaplaned and crashed into the barrier which damaged the car quite heavily.
“The whole front is broken but we also have to change the whole chassis because we’re not sure if there is a crack in it or not and you cannot take any risks with the chassis. It’s better to be 100 per cent safe that the car is in good shape for tomorrow.”
The German driver’s future in Formula 1 is still undecided with his contract ending at the conclusion of the 2022 season.
The first half of his season was marred by heavy and costly crashes in Jeddah and Monaco, with the incident in qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix ruling him out of the race.
When asked about the repairs needed for Schumacher’s car, Steiner said: “It’s the first time now that the potential damage is only potential because we need to x-ray it and see if it is cracked enough. But it is quite as you say, frustrating.
“In FP3 the car will be there tomorrow morning, the car will be there. The guys will have a late evening, but they will fix the car again and we’ve got all the parts, that’s not an issue.”
I don’t understand why Haas are still in F1. What is the point in showing up when knowing you will lose every week?
They’ve definitely gotten themselves into the wilderness, and lord knows if they’ll ever get out of it, but I’d point out:
They’re currently tied with Alpha Tauri for 8th in the Constructor’s Championship standings (and technically ahead on countback) with 34 points and WERE 7th but Aston leapfrogged both teams with a haul of 12 points from the race in Singapore. They’ve only scored major points in 2 GPs (Bahrain and Austria), but teams like Minardi and Jordan lasted for a long time on a model which saw them try hard every weekend and hope for a scenario where they could walk away with a decent points finish (especially hard back in the days where points were only awarded down to 6th). So if you truly feel you’re asking a valid question, then it should arguably also be leveled at Aston, Williams, and even Alpha Tauri this season.
Only two teams have won this year, Red Bull and Ferrari. Are you saying the other 8 teams should quit ?