More tragedy for Haas, as team likely to miss Bahrain Testing due to plane breakdown

More tragedy for Haas, as team likely to miss Bahrain Testing due to plane breakdown

Haas's Team Principal Guenther Steiner

Last week Haas F1 decided to terminate Nikita Mazepin’s contract ahead of the 2022 Formula One season. The American team decided to sever ties with title sponsor Uralkali following Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.

“Haas F1 Team has elected to terminate, with immediate effect, the title partnership of Uralkali, and the driver contract of Nikita Mazepin,” the team said in a statement. But since then the American team’s misfortunes are just growing by the day.

According to recent reports by Tobi Grüner, F1 Reporter working with Auto motor und sport, the plane transporting Haas F1’s cars and equipment to Bahrain has broken down in Istanbul. With the Official Pre-season Testing scheduled from March 10-12, Haas could possibly miss the first day of testing.

Also Read: “We just have to see what’s available,” says Gene Haas confirms…

Haas to “write off” Day 1 of Testing after major delay in schedule

Haas
Haas

According to the news, two Haas VF-22s and the team’s spare parts are still at the airport in Doncaster after a delay in their schedule after the plane that was scheduled to transport the team to Bahrain suffered a breakdown in Istanbul. Auto Motor und Sport added “Now the US racing team is looking for replacement solutions, which is a gamble given the tense situation in cargo air traffic. The rest of the teams expect the bulk of their equipment to arrive in Bahrain today [March 7].”

Team Principal Guenther Steiner, Haas would have to “write off” the first day of testing as the cars won’t reach on time. Steiner said “We can probably write off the first day of testing. All the other teams have a two-day head start in their preparations.”

Haas already have a lot of woes to address ahead of the official pre-season testing in Bahrain. The Team completed the lowest amount of laps after suffering numerous reliability issues in the Barcelona Testing. The team will also be featuring Reserve Driver Pietro Fittipaldi while they scout for a new driver after replacing Mazepin. Will Haas be able to cover up the lost time and make the best of the Pre-season test is unknown.

Also Read: Haas to take advantage of clause in Antonio Giovinazzi’s contract