Schumacher 'OK' after crashing in qualifying

JEDDAH • Mick Schumacher was ruled out of yesterday's Saudi Formula One Grand Prix after crashing heavily in qualifying the day before.

The German, 23, had to be flown to a hospital in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah for precautionary checks, but tweeted to say that he was "OK". His Haas team confirmed that he would not take part in the season's second race despite being physically unhurt.

"Hi everyone, I just wanted to say that I'm ok. Thank you for the kind messages. The car felt great @HaasF1Team, we'll come back stronger," he wrote on Twitter.

Haas team boss Guenther Steiner said: "There is a possibility that he'll have to stay for observation overnight at the hospital. Based on these facts and where we are, we have decided not to field his car tomorrow."

On Saturday, Schumacher was taken by ambulance to the circuit medical centre after being extracted from the shattered car, which split in two when lifted onto a recovery truck, and then flown by helicopter to the King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital.

"He has no injuries which you can see, they just wanted to check on him and do some scans to see that there is no damage from the impact," Steiner told Sky Sports TV.

He said Schumacher, son of seven-time world champion Michael, had spoken to his mother, Corinna.

Commentators estimated the car was travelling at 170mph (274kph) at the time of impact into the concrete barriers at the exit to turn 10, scattering debris across the asphalt.

The floodlit Corniche street circuit is one of the fastest tracks on the calendar.

It looked from TV replays that Schumacher, who had been ninth fastest, lost control of the car on the kerbs, spinning and slamming sideways into the wall.

"Maybe he just tried a little bit too hard," said Steiner. "Here if you make an error, there's no run-off. It's walls."

The crash was the second of the session, with Williams' Canadian driver Nicholas Latifi bringing out red flags in the first phase.

Steiner said the car would have had to be completely rebuilt, and parts from the crashed one would have to be sent back to the factory for checks.

Red Bull's Sergio Perez took pole position for the first time on Saturday, with Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz second and third.

Denmark's Kevin Magnussen was Haas' sole driver in yesterday's race, with the result not known by press time.

The next round will be in Melbourne in a fortnight.

REUTERS