Esteban Gutierrez will have a new chassis for the Bahrain Grand Prix following his crash with Fernando Alonso in Australia.
Alonso hit the rear of Gutierrez's car in the braking zone for Turn 3, with the McLaren being sent rolling through the gravel and coming to a rest upside down against the barrier. While Alonso's car was the focal point in the dramatic incident, Gutierrez also retired with major damage to the left rear corner of his car which has led to Haas replacing his chassis.
“Some of the parts, for example the chassis, were sent back to Europe to be checked and fixed because we can’t do it onsite in Bahrain," team principal Guenther Steiner said. "We have enough spare parts to build up another chassis, so we will use that. Then the chassis that is repaired will be sent to Bahrain via air to serve as our spare.
"The guys will have to work day and night to get to Bahrain, but it’s all doable. Our spare quantity is down, but we have enough to get going again, so we will just keep on working.”
And Steiner says it is testament to the team members that such a major job will be sorted in time for Bahrain despite it being only the second race for Haas.
“We chose good, quality people. Nobody gets down in adversity. Everybody gets up. They are working on the solution, not on the problem. They work together because they are professionals and they know they can get it done together as a team. It all comes down to the quality of people, and I think our quality is pretty high.”
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