Schumacher crash means no spare Haas chassis for Melbourne

The U.S.-owned Formula 1 team are fifth in the 2022 Formula 1 championship after two races thanks to Kevin Magnussen scoring in both; the surprise package of the year thus far.

Schumacher did not race in Jeddah after his Saturday smash but is back for Melbourne, Steiner told reporters at Albert Park: "We have everything, but we have no abundance of spare parts. The drivers are aware of the situation.

"There is no spare chassis, but that can happen sometimes that there’s no spare chassis. I’m not panicking and if something happens, we will deal with it as it comes along," explained Steiner.

He said Schumacher's crashed chassis, which will become the spare, had been sent back to Europe for repairs so it can be available for the next race in Italy at Imola in two weeks' time.

"We had to bring it (the chassis) here because of customs formalities -- it had to enter here and then it could be shipped back to Europe from here, and it’s on its way back now," said Steiner.

The team had considered building a new car after the crash during Saudi GP qualifying to make race-ready for Schumacher to compete in the race the next day, but the idea was scrapped: “You could work all night and then. find out you’ve compromised yourself so much because you did everything in a hurry.

“Then you end up with not all the spare parts in Australia, and then you have a little thing [happen] in Australia, and then you can't race when, in theory, you should be in a better position. It doesn't make sense to me. It's just like trying too hard to call it," reasoned Steiner, explaining why the team withdrew the car.

Schumacher, a rookie with Haas last season, has not raced before at Albert Park with the circuit absent in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 23-year-old German's crash in Jeddah, a track he had been to before, will reportedly cost the team around a million dollars; last year he was the most 'expensive' driver in terms of damage costs.