Mick Schumacher has cost Haas $3.2 million in damages this season. How much have the others cost their respective teams?
Drivers crashing during F1 races is not something anyone wants to see. In spite of that, it has become a norm over the years with some incidents or the others taking place every other weekend. A lot of times, it’s out of the drivers’ control but sometimes it’s their own errors that lead to big crashes.
Back in the day, safety measures were not as strong as they are today. Therefore, a lot of crashes resulted in drivers getting seriously injured and even resulted in the deaths of a few. Today thankfully, the cars are much better equipped to withstand big crashes and drivers walk unscathed/with minor injuries from them.
From a financial perspective, teams have to spend a lot of money to repair the car when it crashes. The amount can go up to millions of dollars in F1 today, and with the cost cap being in effect, it is something they want to avoid.
In the 2022 campaign, Mick Schumacher of Haas suffered quite a few incidents in the opening stages. He crashes in tracks like Jeddah and Monaco which cost his team a reported total of $3.2 million.
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Other than Mick Schumacher, how much have others cost their teams in damages?
Even though Schumacher’s crashes have generated the largest damage bill for Haas, it does not mean he was the only one. In fact, every single driver other than Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen have incurred damage costs to their teams.
After Schumacher, it is outgoing Williams driver Nicholas Latifi who is P2 in the 2022 Destructors Championship. Latifi has cost his team a total of $2.9 million. Next in the list is Ferrari’s superstar Carlos Sainz who had a really tough opening half of the season.
The Spaniard was finally in a car that could compete for race wins, but he felt that he wasn’t particularly suited to it in terms of driving styles. As a result, he made several mistakes and cost his team not just in points, but also in terms of money.
Also read: F1 teams comfortable with $1 million budget boost in 2022 as FIA expands to six sprint races in 2023
