zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Racing
/
Haas F1 Wants Compensation For Freak Accident That Caused Nearly $700,000 In Damage To Its Car
Haas F1 Wants Compensation For Freak Accident That Caused Nearly $700,000 In Damage To Its Car-March 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:11:19

A drain cover came loose during Formula One’s second practice session for the Malaysian Grand Prix on Friday, slashing Haas F1 driver Romain Grosjean’s tire and . The cost of repairing the car is creeping toward $1 million, and it sounds like the team isn’t happy about the bill.

The wreck caused by the loose drain cover, which was on the racing line, can be seen at around the 50-second mark in this video:

reports that the Haas F1 team and Malaysian Grand Prix officials are in talks about compensation for the damage, which F1’s governing body, the FIA, believes was due to a “welding failure” on the drain. The faulty part of the track made officials call off the remainder of practice, and the FIA made engineers at the circuit check and strengthen every drain cover before final practice began.

F1 gave the Haas group a pass to work on the car past series curfew that night without it counting against them, but extra repair time didn’t cut it for the team. F1 broadcaster James Allen a few days ago that damage estimates were between $700,000 and $1 million, and Autosport reports that the latest estimate is around £500,000. That’s $662,063 at current exchange rates.

Haas team principal Gunther Steiner met with Sepang International Circuit chief executive Dato’ Razlan Razali on Sunday to ask for compensation and talk about the issue, which Autosport quotes Steiner as calling “unacceptable” and “not up to the standards” of an F1 track. From Autosport:

Speaking about the incident, Steiner said: “It was completely out of our hands.

“I cannot say - ‘oh, OK, we now let, let’s say, three quarters of a million [dollars] go because somebody forgot to weld something in, it’s all good’.

“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.”

Ouch. Yeah, that is a lot of cash to drop for someone else messing up a welding project.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Racing
World Challenge Penalizes Half The Field After Crazy Long Beach Race
World Challenge Penalizes Half The Field After Crazy Long Beach Race
Following this weekend’s , twenty separate racing incidents were under investigation by the stewards. The penalties assessed are now live on the , and twenty of the forty drivers participating will lose points, money or grid positions over the Long Beach race. Sportscar365 broke down the penalties into a complete...
Mar 25, 2026
NASCAR Commentator Steve Byrnes Has Died Of Cancer At 56
NASCAR Commentator Steve Byrnes Has Died Of Cancer At 56
The entire motorsports community is in mourning right now. Steve Byrnes, long time NASCAR commentator, has passed away after a long battle with cancer. He was 56. Byrnes has been a part of the NASCAR community for decades and just celebrated his 56th birthday. I can’t do Steve justice, but...
Mar 25, 2026
Sharing A Track With A Porsche 918 Makes For A Very Good Day
Sharing A Track With A Porsche 918 Makes For A Very Good Day
Ever had a day so nice that you get Ice Cube’s “” stuck in your head all day? That was my afternoon. The weather was perfect, my car was track-worthy again, and someone brought a 918 Spyder to the track. Not to a car show. Not to the Porsche corral...
Mar 25, 2026
Did The F1 GTR's Tricky Headlamps Give McLaren The Victory At Le Mans?
Did The F1 GTR's Tricky Headlamps Give McLaren The Victory At Le Mans?
The thing about the 1995 McLaren F1 GTRs is that they were race cars which ended up being heavier and less powerful than the road cars they were based on. But that was still good enough for a 1-3-4-5 at Le Mans. McLaren people will tell you that than F1...
Mar 25, 2026
Rally Driver + Trees = No
Rally Driver + Trees = No
Volkswagen World Rally Championship driver Andreas Mikkelsen tried his hand at golf the other day, and ended up in the trees. Perhaps he should stick to rally? This is further proof that rally drivers and trees aren’t a good mix. Also, this is when I’d drop a new ball away...
Mar 25, 2026
16-Year-Old Girl Wins Crazy Offroad Competition
16-Year-Old Girl Wins Crazy Offroad Competition
Sydney Rockwell took the win at the Rush Off-Road Hill Climb in Kentucky this weekend. She is a mere 16 years old. As points out, some of the best drivers in rock bouncing (that’s what you call these all custom V8 machines) all got their asses handed to them by...
Mar 25, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved