Mick’s Saudi chassis will race again in Australia

Henry Valantine
Mick Schumacher wrecked Haas VF-22. Saudi Arabia March 2022

Mick Schumacher's wrecked Haas VF-22, destroyed in his qualifying crash. Saudi Arabia March 2022

Even after an enormous crash in Saudi Arabia, Mick Schumacher will be able to use the same Haas chassis in Australia next weekend.

Schumacher spun into the barriers in qualifying in Jeddah at a 170mph corner, which saw his VF-22 break into two and the rest of his car was completely broken, to a degree where the cost associated with fixing it prevented him racing on Sunday.

Thankfully and most importantly, he was able to come away relatively unscathed after such a horrendous accident, after receiving medical checks at the scene and in hospital, and he admitted afterwards that if he had the same accident 20 years ago, the outcome may well have been different.

Haas team principal Steiner, though, confirmed the damage to the rest of his car was terminal, but Schumacher’s chassis will survive to be used at Albert Park.

Marshals clear the debris from Mick Schumacher wrecked Haas. Saudi Arabia March 2022
The Saudi Arabian marshals clear the debris from Mick Schumacher's wrecked Haas, cement dust laid down. Saudi Arabia March 2022

“The chassis, there is damage to it, but it’s not really big the chassis,” said Steiner on the F1 Nation podcast. “The rest of the car is broken, but not the chassis.”

“Absolutely,” Steiner confirmed when asked if it would be used again. “I mean that chassis, the side-impact structures have to be changed, they did their job, they get destroyed by doing this.

“And otherwise there is one little notch on it which can be easily fixed.”

Schumacher said he was ready to go racing in Saudi Arabia but the lack of spare parts prevented him from doing so, effectively quelling any worries that he would have lost confidence in his driving after such a heavy impact.

He’ll be making his first visit to Melbourne as a driver next weekend, and he’s looking forward to seeing how he can compete on a circuit which has been significantly modified since Formula 1’s last trip to Australia.

 

“I think we have a car that we can fight with and a car that is competitive, which is great,” said Schumacher. “Yes, the track is like most other tracks where it needs bedding in, especially when they’re driven by road cars all year round.

“My dad holds the lap record in a 2004 Ferrari – I got the chance to drive that car – and it’s an amazing car.

“We’ll make our own laps in a similar looking car actually, the cars have turned back in time and they’re looking a bit more like they used to with the high front wing, so it will be interesting. Obviously, very different compared to 2004 but still great to drive with the VF-22.”

 

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