Formula One cars are not cheap, with the teams spending millions upon millions perfecting and maintaining their racing machines.
This is why, understandably, it becomes extremely frustrating to team owners when they have to reach into their pocket to repair one of their cars following an accident.
Gene Haas outlined this in a recent interview when discussing the teams plans for the future.
“If you make any mistakes in driver selection, or strategy, or tire selection, it is costing you millions of dollars,” he told The Associated Press at a recent NASCAR event in Las Vegas.
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The team owner has a big decision to make alongside team principal Guenther Steiner: with Mick Schumacher’s contract expiring at the end of the season, can they afford to give him another chance?
Although a promising driver on his day, as seen with his P6 finish this year in Austria, Mick has a habit for high cost crashes.
Last season, the young German driver topped the cost charts with his crashes, costing Haas approximately 4.2 million euros, more than much criticised teammate Nikita Mazepin, according to Sky Germany.
This season has been no different, with the likeable German managing to split his car clean in half at the swimming pool chicane at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Gene Haas has now addressed the issue surrounding Schumacher’s seat, saying that as much as he’s a talented driver, if he keeps crashing, his costs will outweigh the positives.
“I think Mick has got a lot of potential, but you know he costs a fortune and he’s wrecked a lot of cars that have cost us a lot of money that we just don’t have,” he explained.
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“Now, if you bring us some points, and you are [Max] Verstappen and you wreck cars, we’ll deal with it. But when you are in the back and you wreck cars, that’s very difficult,” he continued.
Haas possess the holy grail as far as drivers are concerned, an empty seat, so Schumacher can be sure he’s got stern competition for his spot.
Nico Hulkenberg is the bookies’ favourite should Schumacher lose his seat, but more recently Daniel Ricciardo has had his name thrown into the ring by Guenther Steiner as an option, should he want it.