Haas without spare chassis for Australian GP after Mick Schumacher crash

Mick Schumacher after Saudi Arabian GP qualifying crash — Photo: © LAT Images

Haas

Haas without spare chassis for Australian GP after Schumacher crash

Schumacher crashed heavily in Saudi Arabia

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Thursday 7 April 2022 10:05 Updated: 11:02

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Haas will be without a spare chassis for the Australian Grand Prix as a consequence of crash damage sustained in Saudi Arabia.

Mick Schumacher missed the race in Jeddah after a frightening qualifying crash that resulted in a trip to hospital, although the German was uninjured.

With F1 having entered a new era this season, teams are still building up car resources at the same time as producing upgraded components, meaning spare parts are at a premium early in the year.

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On whether Haas had spare parts for the Albert Park event, team principal Guenther Steiner replied: "The situation with spare parts is as expected on race number two after a big crash.

"We have got everything but we have no abundance of spare parts.

"How about a spare chassis? We haven't got one here because we have sent it back to Europe so we will get it ready for Imola.

"We had to bring it here for customs formalities, it had to be entered here before it could be shipped back to Europe from here. It is on its way back now."

Haas won't change approach without spare chassis

F1 returns to Melbourne for the first time since 2019 with the street layout updated for this weekend to include higher speed sections in the hope of creating more exciting racing.

Despite the fast street circuit layout increasing the risk factor for teams and drivers, Steiner has insisted Haas' approach will not differ without a spare chassis.

"You cannot approach it differently. The drivers are aware of the situation, there is no spare chassis but that can happen sometimes," he explained.

"I am not panicking and if something happens, we will deal with it as it comes along.

"You cannot go and say 'go out there and drive slowly', that doesn't make sense. Just don't take extra risks if you don't have to."