Kevin Magnussen hadn’t driven a Formula 1 car in over a year, but when he returned to the Haas team he quickly mastered the new generation of machines and started the season well, earning points in the first two races .
You can’t say the same about his partner, Mick Schumacher. In Bahrain, he finished 11th, but was then prevented from performing better by a collision with Esteban Ocon at the start of the race, in which the Frenchman was clearly at fault and fined.
But in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Mick didn’t start at all, as he had a serious accident during qualifying and the car crashed – this time through his own fault alone. He was lucky not to be injured himself, but the equipment was so badly damaged that Haas F1 chose not to rush to repair it, but calmly prepare for the next stage in Australia.
The point is also in the limited spare parts reserve: if there is also a problem in the race, Mick may simply not have anything to perform on in Melbourne.
On the one hand, Schumacher is not considered an accident prone racer, but last year he crashed into cars on weekends in Monaco, France, Hungary and Saudi Arabia. It was unpleasant, the team was forced to spend money on repairing equipment, but at least it didn’t earn any points, and Mick had rookie status, so some mistakes while driving a slow and inefficient car were very understandable.
But now the situation has changed. The new car VF-22 makes it possible to fight for points, and Magnussen successfully proved this. While Schumacher crashed his car, and repairs will cost the team very dearly. But there is a risk that the consequences of that error will not be limited to extra costs alone.
On the one hand, all teams work with tight budgets, on the other, everyone, including Haas, has a special reserve for emergencies. However, the accident in Jeddah is too serious and there is a risk that the repair of Mick’s car will force the American team to adjust the plan to upgrade the equipment. It is not certain that this will happen immediately, but it is possible that such a need will arise in the later stages of the season.
As if foreseeing such a situation, Haas F1 head Günter Steiner said in February: “If you have an accident on a tight budget and you have to spend half a million just for repairs, it means you have to upgrade the car or developing new products will be half a million less, and you can usually do a lot with that money.”
If an accident like Saturday’s in Jeddah is repeated, the risk of such consequences will increase dramatically. So far this hasn’t happened, but the team has already missed the points that Mick could potentially earn.
He will get plenty of such opportunities, but as long as he doesn’t miss them. This is important both for his own reputation and for the successful execution of the team’s ambitious plans.
Mick understands this like no other, of course, and the advice not to crash more cars would sound too obvious. However, it is worth repeating this one more time, as he has already had one serious accident, and at the very beginning of the season, which is so important for him and for the team. And unlike last year, the price of a mistake is now measured not only in money.
Source: F1 News
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
