Haas F1 team boss Guenther Steiner says that the crashes that Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin have on a regular basis are starting to get into the thick of things. So much so, that Steiner hopes the drivers will be more careful on the track from now on.
Major crashes of Schumacher and Mazepin
Haas has chosen to race with two rookies in Formula 1 in 2021 and to do little to the car to save costs. But because the car is difficult to drive and Schumacher and Mazepin are clearly struggling, the two crash more often than team principal Steiner would like. Schumacher hit the wall in Imola, Monaco, France and Hungary, while Mazepin crashed in Bahrain, Imola and Baku.
"You always plan with accidents, especially with rookie drivers, but we have reached a point now where we have to work on [how] to have less accidents for the rest of the season," Steiner said in conversation with F1.com. Schumacher in particular has experienced some big crashes in the last five weekends says Steiner.
Haas runs into trouble with budget
"It’s a lot of money for no good reason, so we have to work on it to get better on that one, and obviously the budget is the budget – you need to stick to it," Steiner continued. According to the Italian, it's still manageable at the moment, but the team won't be able to keep that up for very long. "They’re getting a little bit too frequent and too heavy."
Despite his drivers' crashes, Steiner doesn't want to tarnish their racing instincts: "What needs to be explained to young people is, you have to make a judgement: is it worthwhile or not? A [worthwhile] risk would be if you have the opportunity to gain a position in the manufacturers’ championship."