The Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix hit the headlines during a practice day Friday when a missile launched by the Houthi rebels in Yemen struck the North Jeddah Bulk Plant oil facility near the track. F1 went ahead with that practice (after a slight delay) and with Saturday’s practice and qualifying schedules, though, and one of those qualifying races saw Haas driver Mick Schumacher (son of seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher) crash into a barrier at 170 miles per hour:
Red Flag 🚩
Mick Schumacher has a heavy hit at Turn 12. #SaudiArabianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/12lBHlXRex
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 26, 2022
https://twitter.com/JustGregAllen/status/1507778933835669516
This led to qualifying being paused for almost an hour, including with the removal of debris. But fortunately, this doesn’t appear to have been that consequential for Schumacher:
UPDATE: Mick is physically in a good condition but will be flown by helicopter to hospital for further precautionary check-ups. #HaasF1 #SaudiArabianGP
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) March 26, 2022
Mick Schumacher has been assessed at the Medical Centre. The assessment revealed no injuries.
He has been transferred to King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital, Jeddah, for precautionary checks.#SaudiArabianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/ZVJoHdl0M3
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 26, 2022
Here’s more on this from Olly Allen of The Daily Mail:
‘I spoke with his Mum and kept her updated,’ Haas team principal Guenther Steiner said.
‘He has no injuries that you can see, but they want to do some scans to make sure there was no impact from the forces. The impact broke up the digital [technology] so we heard nothing [on the radio] but we got word he was conscious.’
This did lead to a lot of reactions from the F1 world, though:
Such a vicious hit.
Per Haas, Mick Schumacher is "conscious, out of the car" and has been transported to the medical center where he'll be evaluated. https://t.co/pb2qyOX4pI
— Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) March 26, 2022
https://twitter.com/LIMA6613/status/1507776574766166018
This was a hit that made your stomach drop.
Really glad to hear Mick Schumacher was awake and alert. I hope there’s nothing more. https://t.co/1Wx5HpOEpE
— Austin Konenski (@AustinKonenski) March 26, 2022
It’s good to hear that Schumacher appears to have come out of this without major injuries. We wish him all the best with his recovery.
Update: Haas confirmed later Saturday that Schumacher was released from hospital:
We can confirm that Mick has been released from hospital and has returned to his hotel.#HaasF1 #SaudiArabianGP
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) March 26, 2022
[The Daily Mail; TSN; image from @JustGregAllen on Twitter]
