Guenther Steiner said he was "disappointed" and "frustrated" after watching Mick Schumacher crash his car on the way back to the pits at the end of practice at Suzuka.
The FP1 session was already over, and all the German had to do was get his Haas back to the garage safely in the wet weather. But that mission did not go to plan, as he hit some standing water and span off the track before slamming hard into a barrier.
The impact caused extensive damage to the VF-22, meaning it could not be fixed in time for Schumacher to get back out on track for FP2. It meant little running for the racer on a track where he has never driven an F1 car before, hampering his chances for the rest of the weekend.
With the potential for chassis damage, though, the problem is likely to be a costly one for Haas. Team chief Steiner made it clear he would be taking no chances with the car, but appeared confident that it will be ready to be driven again in FP3 on Saturday morning.
"It's disappointing," he told F1 TV. "We just went out to do a race start to get data for Sunday and then on the way in from the race start Mick crashed the car, aquaplaned and crashed into the barrier which damaged the car quite heavily.
"The whole front is broken, but we also have to change the whole chassis because we are not sure if there is a crack in it or not and you cannot take any risks with the chassis. Maybe we could have gone out in FP2 for 10 minutes but that's not important, it's better to be 100% safe that the car is in good shape for tomorrow.
"The guys will have a late evening, but they will fix the car again and we've got all the parts, that's not an issue. So it will be there. It's the third time now [Schumacher has crashed in 2022]. The potential damage is only potential because we need to X-ray it and see if it's cracked enough – but it is quite, as you say, frustrating."
In a separate interview with Auto Motor und Sport, the Haas boss' anger was perhaps more clear as he revealed the likely cost of fixing all the damage caused in what he felt was an avoidable incident. "When driving back to the pits, you're not allowed to fly off... the water was already there on the previous lap," said Steiner.
"It was like aquaplaning on the motorway. The car floated up at the front and spun in one direction at the back. It was already standing sideways." With damage to the front wheel suspension on both sides, the wheel carriers, the underbody, the nose and the front wing, he estimated the cost of the fix to be around "half a million dollars".
