F1 News: Toto Wolff Reveals Saving Grace For Haas After Mick Schumacher Crash

Haas, one of the smaller teams on the F1 grid, were hit with a bill of $1 million after Mick Schumacher crashed during the qualifying of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. But while many fans have been wondering where this money will come from, especially with a new cost cap on every team that limits its yearly spending, Toto Wolff has revealed some good news.

It looks as though the cost cap “will be adjusted” for Haas, according to the Mercedes team principal after Schumacher hit the concrete wall of the Jaddah circuit at a reported 160mph. Haas team principal later admitted it was close to $1 million worth of damage:

“I don’t know money-wise but between gearbox, the whole bodywork is gone, radiators are gone – $500,000 to $1million, I would say,” he said via Motorsport.com.

With a $140 million cost cap, such a surprise expense is a substantial portion of what the team has to spend. But Wolff has admitted that their cost cap will be adjusted for this:

“You can say that a crash like Mick had falls into the category of a ‘big shunt’ and there is an allowance in the cost cap where if you need to build a new chassis, the cost cap will be adjusted for you,” he told the press.

Wolff also gave some indication of whether he believes the Jeddah circuit to be dangerous, admitting that drivers have to take risks, saying that Formula 1 is “dangerous and city circuits are the spectacular ones, among the most spectacular ones and the drivers need to take more risks so you are always on the knifes edge.”

“There’s a nominal amount, but in a racing team, you never can stick to your budget like in a normal commercial business because you have this risk.

“You have got obviously a contingency there. But if you have two or three like this, pretty quick your contingency is not there anymore.

“It’s a loss. So you just need to manage. Obviously I hope we don’t have a lot more of them.”