Haas F1 driver Romain Grosjean suffered a hefty crash at last weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix FP2 after running over an awry drain cover
at 168 miles per hour. Knocked loose by previous drivers taking the racing line, the plate’s weld broke and sent Grosjean’s car flying into the barrier, eventually causing damage that is being assessed at nearly $1 million. Now, Haas is looking for compensation from Sepang officials in order to offset these drastic costs.
Formula 1 allowed the Haas team to work after curfew in order to fix the car before Sunday’s race, but this is not enough, according to team officials. The wreck that shook Grosjean and simply mutilated his car will now be a major financial burden for the American crew, and as a report from Autosport states, they are seeking reimbursement for the freak accident.
Haas team principal Gunther Steiner explained in an interview:
“It was completely out of our hands. I cannot say, ‘Oh, okay, we now let, let’s say, three quarters of a million [dollars] go because somebody forgot to weld something in, it’s all good,’” Steiner said. “We pay to come here, we pay a fee to come here, everybody has to pay. We discussed it and they were very professional about it…They have insurance, let’s see what we can do.”
Malaysian Grand Prix officials have yet to release a statement on the situation, though they appear to be cooperating with Haas to an extent per Steiner (more to come in the future as to how the drain covers respond.
Grosjean went onto finish 13th at Sunday’s race, continuing the team’s woes with fellow Haas driver Kevin Magnussen placing just one spot ahead of him in 12th.