It will be a race against time for Haas F1 to start the test days in Bahrain. Team America may have to miss the first day of testing, says team boss Günther Steiner.

Two cars and parts that Haas was planning to send to Bahrain for a test day are still in the UK. Based on Auto, Motorcycle and Sports the plane whose spare parts were to be transported encountered a technical problem in Istanbul. Material is not expected to arrive in Bahrain until Tuesday evening at the earliest, giving the team at most one day to prepare the VF-22 for a test day starting on Thursday.

Also read: Haas Uses Fittipaldi as a Substitute for Mazepin Currently, But Wants More Experienced Drivers

“We may be able to clear the first day of testing,” said Steiner AMuS“All the other teams have a two-day lead in preparation.” It would be a huge setback for Haas, who already had some trouble with the shakedown in Barcelona. With 160 laps, Haas has already led the fewest laps of all the teams at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and is therefore also slightly behind on important dates, especially with the new cars.

Read also: Mazepin slams Haas after losing F1 seat: ‘This is a one-sided move’

In Bahrain, Mick Schumacher and reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi will conduct tests on behalf of Haas. Fittipaldi came on as a temporary replacement for Nikita Mazepin, who was immediately kicked out of the team last Saturday. The contract with the Russian sponsor Uralkali, in which Dmitry Mazepin’s father was a majority shareholder, was also canceled due to the war in Ukraine. It is becoming increasingly difficult to do money business with Russian companies because of the sanctions imposed and because of the actions against Russian athletes, the possibility of Mazepin being able to drive all season. Haas have indicated that they are looking for a ‘more experienced’ driver to be placed alongside Schumacher.