It’s been an eventful week off of the track, to say the least, in the ranks of Formula 1 and its drivers.
Between a bomb going off near the circuit – Jeddah Corniche Circuit – driver meetings that stretched past 1:30 a.m. local time, and doubts that the race would even happen, the chaos picked up again on Saturday.
During qualifying for Sunday’s race, Haas F1’s Mick Schumacher got into a brutal-looking accident and announced that he will not participate in Sunday’s race, ‘in light of it.’
While the verbage of it isn’t incredibly specific, it does appear as though Schumacher could race on Sunday if he wanted to.
This is a statement towards F1 and the FIA, which insisted on its drivers and teams racing at this track – a newer one to the series, but one that fails to have SAFER barriers stretching around the concrete walls that border the racing surface.
OH NO MICK SCHUMACHER WITH A HUGE INCIDENT. Really hope he’s ok 🙏#F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/7d2XlFN5Ic
— Mr Matthew F1 (@Mr_Matthew_) March 26, 2022
In an updated statement from Haas, it was confirmed that Schumacher was not injured in the accident:
Schumacher was taken to the trackside Medical Centre following a significant accident at Turn 12 in his VF-22 in the Q2 section of qualifying. After his assessment revealed no injuries, Schumacher was transferred to King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital in Jeddah for precautionary checks. The team has subsequently taken the decision to contest the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with the sole entry of Kevin Magnussen.
Team Principal Guenther Steiner said that the potential of an overnight stay impacted their team’s decision:
“A very eventful day for us,” Steiner said. “The best thing is that Mick has apparently no injuries, he’s in the hospital right now and being evaluated by the doctors, so he is in good hands at the moment. There is a possibility that he’ll have to stay for observation overnight at the hospital. Based on these facts and where we are, we have decided not to field his car tomorrow.”
Haas will enter the race with just one car at its usage. The event is scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m. (Noon) CT in the United States on ESPN.
