In the second quarter, Schumacher crashed into the concrete walls at turn 10 at high speed after losing control of his car on a curb.
Schumacher’s car was nearly destroyed in a side impact, but after a lengthy evacuation, an initial check at the Jeddah Street Circuit Medical Center revealed no injuries.
However, Schumacher was flown by helicopter to the nearby King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital for additional preventive checks.
Haas team boss Gunther Steiner ruled out Schumacher’s participation in Sunday’s Grand Prix.
“The best thing is that Mick appears to have no injuries and is currently in the hospital undergoing medical checkups so he is in good hands at the moment,” Steiner said in a team statement.
“There is a possibility that he will have to stay overnight in the hospital for observation. Based on these facts and where we are, we have decided not to exhibit his car tomorrow.”
However, later on Saturday evening, Schumacher was allowed to leave the hospital and posted a photo of himself from his hotel room on social media.
During the extended red flag that followed Schumacher’s crash, Steiner had already hinted that he would take the car.
“To take any risk tomorrow, it’s not like that, you know, and we’re in Melbourne in two weeks, and it’s better to focus on that to make sure we’re in good shape there,” Steiner told F1 TV.
“The machine, nothing would be left, everything still needs to be returned for inspection after such a blow, so you need to build a completely new machine.”
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Steiner reported that the team had no radio contact with Schumacher after the impact, meaning the team had to wait for confirmation on their driver’s condition.
“We didn’t have radio contact with him, because everything related to the impact, everything is digital, it fell apart,” he explained.
“So we didn’t know anything. But then we received a message that he is conscious, this is the most important thing. And then, as soon as they let him down, they said that he had no external damage.
Marshals return the remains of Mick Schumacher’s car, a Haas VF-22, after a severe accident in the second quarter.
Photo: Andy Hawn/Motorsport Images