Haas wary chassis damage could write-off Abu Dhabi F1 weekend

Hefty accidents for Schumacher and Mazepin in Jeddah, as well as damage picked up on Mazepin’s car in Qatar, have left Haas tight on spares heading into the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina. 

Speaking ahead of the weekend on Thursday, Haas team principal Guenther Steiner admitted his side cannot afford to have a big incident on Friday. 

“The two last races, not only Saudi but also Qatar, we had some damage and there was no time to make new parts,” he explained. 

“So our stock is pretty low on parts. We have got enough to do the race if we don’t have any big accidents on Friday, then we will be okay. But for sure, the drivers will be made of the situation. 

"We cannot take any risks on Friday. It’s not that we are completely without parts, we have enough parts, but to have a Friday this weekend like we had a Sunday last weekend, that would put us in a bind.” 

While Steiner insisted the team is not in a “panic situation”, he conceded further chassis damage is the greatest concern. A complete chassis-write off could even force Schumacher or Mazepin to miss the race. 

“One was damaged in Qatar and one was damaged in Saudi Arabia, so we have an issue with the chassis,” Steiner added. 

"The rest of the parts - the stock is not high but we have enough wings and floors, so we should be okay with that one. 

“But normally when you do a chassis you do other parts as well, so we just need to be a little bit careful on Friday but then we will be okay. 

“It’s not like we are in a panic situation, we just need to be careful on Friday.”