"It was quite shocking" - F1 drivers react to Mick Schumacher's car-splitting accident at 2022 F1 Monaco GP
The 2022 F1 Monaco GP featured a harrowing crash that involved Mick Schumacher, which brought out the red flag. The crash was very graphic as the car was split into two parts, making everyone worry about the Haas driver's well-being. The German driver was, however, in good spirits after the crash and admitted that the crash only needed him slipping up by just 10 centimeters.
Other F1 drivers admitted after the race that they were shocked to see the carnage. Pierre Gasly said:
“When I saw the gearbox completely out, it was quite shocking. For the red flag, they took some time, but it was the right thing to do. I was a bit surprised we had VSC and not a Safety Car straight away.”
Thank you all for the kind messages, I’m ok. Focusing on the races ahead. #MSC47 https://t.co/tVAMGTYr18
Fernando Alonso delved deeper into the reasons behind the car breaking into two parts, mentioning the increased weight of the car as being one of the factors. He said:
“I don’t think it’s a car issue, it’s just how hard you hit. With these cars, they are very heavy, more than 800kg, so the inertia you go into the wall is a lot higher than in the past. As I said, probably we learned something from today as well.”
Sebastian Vettel, one of Schumacher's closest friends on the F1 grid, was happy to see that the young driver was okay and hadn't suffered any injuries. He said:
“I was happy to hear on the radio he was fine before I got to the incident. It is easy to get it wrong so quickly. I don’t know exactly what happened to him, I haven’t seen it, but the main thing is he is okay.”
Haas team principal not impressed with another crash from the German
Guenther shares his thoughts after a challenging Sunday on the streets of Monte Carlo 🇲🇨
#HaasF1 #MonacoGP https://t.co/KIW7XVtOEW
While everyone else on the F1 grid was happy to see Mick Schumacher out of the car safely, the man who had to bear the cost of the damaged car was not too impressed. Guenther Steiner was visibly unhappy with the damage caused to the car. He said:
“With Mick we obviously saw what happened. It’s not very satisfactory having a big crash again. We need to see how we move forward from here.”
It will be interesting to see whether Mick Schumacher can turn things around in time. Catch him next at the Azerbaijan GP on June 12, 2022.