Haas short of a spare chassis for Australian GP weekend

©Haas

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The Haas F1 team heads into the Australian Grand Prix weekend without a spare chassis as a result of Mick Schumacher's crash in Saudi Arabia last time out.

They young German's off in qualifying in Jeddah forced Haas to rebuild a new VF-22 from a spare tub, an arduous task that the team completed on Wednesday in Melbourne, the US outfit using one of its free curfews to do so.

However, with Schumacher's damaged chassis on its way back to Europe where it will undergo a thorough examination, Haas drivers are now left without a safety net for this weekend should anything go wrong on Friday o Saturday.

"The situation with spare parts is expected on race number two after a big crash," explained Haas team boss Guenther Steiner.

"We have everything, but we have no abundance of spare parts. The next question is how is the spare chassis? We haven’t got one because we have sent it back to Europe at the beginning of the week, so we’ll get it ready for Imola.

"We had to bring it here because of custom 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."

Read also: Steiner says F1 upgrades 'a little bit overrated sometimes'

Although Haas' driver will be running without a safety net at Albert Park, Steiner doesn't believe it will change Schumacher of Kevin Magnussen's approach to their race weekend.

"I think we cannot approach differently," added the Italian. "The drivers are aware of the situation that there is no spare chassis but that can happen sometimes.

"I’m not too panicking and if something happens, we will deal with it as it comes along.

"You cannot say ‘go out there and drive slowly’, that doesn’t make sense as well, just like ‘don’t take extra risks if you don’t have to’."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.