Meanwhile, Guenther Steiner, the Haas F1 boss, spoke about the accident, listing the damage to the car and estimated repairs to be worth close to a million dollars.
On Saturday, during the qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Formula One fans were gripped with fear after Haas driver Mick Schumaker lost control over the curb and crashed into Turn-12. The 23-year-old's car went flying into the barriers on either side of the track before he remained seated in the cockpit for what seemed an eternity.
Immediately, ambulance services appeared on the scene, and Mick Schumacher was airlifted to the hospital for further checks. Although the Formula One driver said he was 'OK', the horrifying crash immediately reminded former world champion Mika Hakkinen of Mick's father, the legendary Michael Schumacher.
While the Haas driver was lucky to have suffered no injuries, two-time world champion Hakkinen was reminded of two traumatic incidents. The first incident was when the 53-year-old almost died in a horrifying qualifying crash ahead of the 1995 Australian Grand Prix.
Hi everyone, I just wanted to say that I’m ok🙏
Thank you for the kind messages.
The car felt great , we’ll come back stronger❤️ pic.twitter.com/Mwpy0767kN
In the Friday afternoon qualifying session of the 1995 Australian GP, Mika Hakkinen, in his McLaren car, suffered a puncture in his left rear tyre heading towards Brewery Bend. This caused him to lose control, become airborne and crash heavily into a tyre barrier at 120 mph. The impact caused his helmet to strike the steering wheel, fracturing his skull, which Mick Schumacher's crash brought back painful memories of.
"At that time, there was no HANS headrest in use and no shields next to the helmet," Hakkinen explained. "Then the neck will flutter, and the brain will sway, and there may [have been] a bad injury, as it happened to me. When I saw Mick's accident, my own accident automatically came to mind," he added.
The 'Flying Finn' also explained how Michael Schumacher's tragic skiing accident in December 2013 sprang to mind on seeing the latter's son suffered a horrific crash. In an unfortunate incident in the French Alps, the seven-time world champion fell into a coma and still suffers health issues to this day due to the impact.
The former McLaren driver said, "Of course, his father immediately came to mind. And I thought of Mick's mother, who I met a moment ago. I thought now is not a good place, now is awful. Fortunately, we heard the good news that the young man had regained consciousness."
Meanwhile, Guenther Steiner, the Haas F1 boss, spoke about the accident, listing the damage to the car and estimated repairs to be worth close to a million dollars.
"The chassis itself doesn't seem to be broken. The side impact structure is, but you can change them. Obviously, we need to do a proper check on the chassis, but it looks not too bad, to be honest. The engine also, I was told from Ferrari, seems to be okay. The battery pack as well. And then all the rest is broken," Steiner stated.
"I think the cost is still pretty high because all the suspension is gone, except the front-left. I think there's still something on there. The rest is just like carbon powder. I don't know money-wise, but with these cars, between gearbox, the whole bodywork is gone, radiator ducts are gone, so it's between half a million and a million, I would say," he remarked.
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