Mick Schumacher crashing his Haas in Japan has cost them around $500,000, which could further strain his extension with the American team.
During the first day of action at the Japanese Grand Prix, Mick Schumacher crashed his car into the wall. Haas saw a massive spike in its repair budget.
Thus, left Haas boss Guenther Steiner utterly disappointed. According to him, the crash by Schumacher has made them spend around $500,000 more from their yearly budget.
“Another half a million euros of scrap! That simply mustn’t happen on the last lap back to the pits,” said Steiner to F1TV. “It’s just disappointing.”
The F1 cost cap has tied every team’s hands in development. On the other hand, Schumacher has been the costliest driver in the entire grid, with his car damage cost to Haas now ranging between $1.5 million to $2 million.
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Another crash could cost Mick Schumacher his F1 stay
This season has strained ties between Haas and Schumacher. The American team is not keen on extending his contract after the 2020 F2 champion decided to leave Ferrari’s academy.
Nevertheless, his performances have been good in the second half of the season, which could be a factor in staying with Haas. Earlier this season, even Schumacher wasn’t keen on staying with Haas for 2023 as he was linked with Alpine.
However, with Pierre Gasly likely to take the seat in the French team, Schumacher is left without options. Though, there has been strong interest from Williams. It remains to be seen what the German race driver will do with time to decide about his future slowly passing away.
Is AlphaTauri an answer?
Gasly is likely to be announced by Alpine on Saturday. This move will surely leave a vacuum at AlphaTauri, who still don’t have a straightforward replacement for the Frenchman in mind after the FIA didn’t give a super license to Colton Herta.
So, Schumacher, one of the most significant young prospects in F1, can pique the interests of the bosses at Red Bull. However, it can technically ruin his relations with Ferrari.
So, options for the 23-year-old are still not less. But he has to decide before all three teams decide to move on.
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