Everything in life comes at a price, and so does Formula 1. In a sport as ruthless as Formula 1, you are only as good as the money you bring in and the less money you cost your team. And in the case of Mick Schumacher, the Haas driver for the 2021 and 2022 seasons, both of the prerequisites went in the opposite direction from what was required. 

Mick arrived at Haas in 2021, when their car was said to be the equivalent of a Formula 2 car. They spared him for his performances, keeping the plans that the team had for the next year. So, when the next year came, and it was time to perform in a car that helped you do that, Mick crashed several times, marking a huge setback for the team. All this started early on in the season, right from the second round, i.e., the Saudi Arabian GP.

What happened in Saudi Arabia, you may ask? Of course, a crash took place. How expensive was it? A freaking million dollars! A crash that was so intense that, combined with a few more that came later, actually set the development of Haas behind by quite some margins. Mick continued to rake in the bills and finished as the driver with the highest damages.

Schumacher’s million-dollar high-speed crash sent shockwaves through the racing world as the son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher suffered a 33G shunt, leaving him hospitalized for precautionary checks. Miraculously, he escaped without any injuries but was unable to participate in the race in Jeddah. Haas later confirmed that the car’s chassis and engine were the only parts not written off in the devastating crash, which nearly tore Schumacher’s VF-22 car in two. Ultimately, Haas only fielded one car for the weekend.

After the crash, Guenther Steiner, the team’s boss, as quoted by Crash, said, “The engine also, I was told from Ferrari, seems to be okay. The battery pack as well. But then all the rest is broken! I think the cost is still pretty high because all the suspension is gone, except the front left. I think there’s still something on there.”

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“The rest is just like powder, carbon powder. I don’t know money-wise as yet but these cars, between gearbox, the whole bodywork’s gone, the radiator… Between $500,000 to $1 million I would say,” concluded Steiner mentioning the high costs in a time of strict cost cap implementation.

Haas boss wasn’t happy with Mick’s Monaco crash

Schumacher’s first phase of the last season was by no means cheap. A crash in Saudi Arabia, then in Monaco, a spin in Imola, and a crash into Sebastian Vettel in Miami are just some instances that one may recall when they think of his last year. Experts believe it was all this cost that eventually cost the German driver his seat at Haas and, by extension, in Formula 1.

Mick’s crash in Monaco was more severe than that in the Saudi Arabian GP. The Haas VF-22 was so severely damaged by the collision—it split in half and severely damaged the barriers—that the race had to be paused while the marshals fixed the damage. GP Fans questioned Steiner about whether another Schumacher accident would result in serious discussions. Steiner, as quoted by the Express, replied, “I would say so. We would have a serious discussion because eventually we would run out of parts and we will be unable to continue producing them.

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“Again, as much money as you throw at it, you just physically cannot keep doing it. So we need to make sure that here, nothing happens. We have passed [our season’s repair budget]. We passed that allowance in Jeddah. We are in front of the allowance. I would love to be in front of the amount of points we have scored but we are in front on crashes.”

Mick Schumacher in 2022: full of errors

As per Planet F1, the cost borne by Haas for Mick Schumacher’s crashes summed up to nearly $4.5 million! For Haas, it became a severe issue since the 12 points collected weren’t justified by the bills. Eventually, the team dropped him for another German, Nico Hulkenberg.

Mick, as believed by fans, was under severe pressure from the management at Haas after his initial crashes. This caused him to be more cautious with the speed, thus costing him positions in qualifying as well as in races. The Haas management came under scrutiny for not backing their young prodigy and for their stringent public criticism, which could have been handled better than how it was actually done.

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Currently, Mick serves as a reserve driver for Mercedes, which is helping him stay tuned if any openings arise. However, until 2026, i.e., the entry of Audi, a vacancy is unlikely to open for Mick.