"It's just a matter of not taking unnecessary risks" - Haas F1 has no replacement chassis for Australian GP

Haas F1 reportedly lacks a spare chassis heading into the 2022 Australian GP this weekend after Mick Schumacher’s car incurred severe damage after a high-impact crash during qualifying in Saudi Arabia.

Team principal Guenther Steiner said the team will need a trouble-free weekend in Australia and hopes neither driver will have any more incidents. Speaking to Auto Motor und Sport ahead of the Australian GP weekend, he said:

“The drivers are aware of the situation. But we can’t just tell them to slow down. It’s just about not taking any unnecessary risks.”

Haas reportedly manufactured just three chassis with the current spec, meaning their situation was inevitable in case of a big shunt. The team reportedly evaluated the damage sustained by the third chassis and hopes to get it fixed by the time F1 arrives at Imola for the Emilia Romagna GP. Explaining the reasons behind their issues, Steiner said:

“We first had to send the [damaged] chassis from Jeddah to Melbourne for customs reasons. From there it finally went back to the factory in Europe. It will then be ready for use again in Imola.”

The budget cap restrictions have made it increasingly difficult for teams to juggle development and manufacturing enough spare parts in case of a major accident. Bigger teams have often expressed concerns over incurring damage that could hurt them competitively, especially when the damage was incurred through no fault on the team’s side.

Haas, on the other hand, is one of the most efficient teams on the grid and is currently operating well below the budget cap. The little American team tends to only manufacture enough spare parts that it deems necessary to race. For 2022, it has also adopted a development strategy of fully understanding their existing car before bringing in more upgrades, mostly due to lessons learned from their miserable campaigns over the last few seasons.

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Driveability “strongest characteristic” of Haas’ 2022 challenger

Guenther Steiner believes the Haas VF-22’s driveability is its strongest characteristic, giving both his drivers the confidence to drive aggressively. Speaking to Autosport, he said:

“The strength is the fact that drivers have found it quite easy to drive. In the race, he [Magnussen] says that the car is doing what he wants it to do. Obviously, there’s always things to improve, but he said: ‘It’s really nice to drive. It’s so competitive and I can challenge all the time.’ So the car is pretty good.”

Haas chose not to develop their 2021 car to focus entirely on the 2022 car, and so far, their gamble seems to have worked out well. The team has vaulted itself to the front of the midfield this season after two horrendous seasons at the back of the grid.