After Baku’s F1 rage, Schumacher cannot count on having it too easy

Haas F1 teammates Mazepin and Schumacher took part in a drag race in the final lap to the finish line at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix two weeks ago, with Schumacher taking 13th place.

But Schumacher was upset when Mazepin swiped right at high speed as he passed him just before the finish line after the Russian driver ran out of battery on his car.

Haas said after the race it “purged the air” between the two drivers, with Schumacher revealing that Mazepin apologized after seeing video of the incident.

Mazepin said ahead of the French Grand Prix this weekend that he thinks “there was no incident” as “both cars returned to the pits”.

“I thought he was going to take the inside line and he went for the outside line and when I saw that he had committed to it I ducked because in the end we are not fighting for points and the team’s result is that Priority, “said Mazepin.

“I think we have a positive atmosphere in the team, if I may call it that, and it has been that way since day one and it continues to be that way. We are both young drivers who push our limits.

“But as I said at the beginning, as long as both cars come back unharmed, I think that’s okay with the team boss.”

When asked about his apology to Schumacher, Mazepin said he believed conversations within the team should be kept private, adding that he was sorry the German driver felt upset about the incident.

“Our discussions that are held within the team should, in my opinion, stay within the team,” said Mazepin.

“However, if it was already released I would say that I apologized to him for feeling that way and he was clearly very upset.

Nikita Mazepin, Haas VF-21

Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images

“But I would just say that it is very important that he doesn’t expect it to be too easy and I will never fail to block for one reason or another. But I just didn’t expect him to be there.” he ended.

“If he felt like this, I apologized because I think I should.

Regarding the incident, Schumacher said he found it “confusing” that such an aggressive move had been made, particularly by a teammate.

“If you come in tow, you basically have all that is left of the battery, and then you use everything and there is no stopping it,” explained Schumacher.

“The only way to stop someone is to scare them or bump them into the wall and they obviously tried to. In fairness, I kept my foot down so I got past them anyway, but I still think that it was “unexpected on my part.”

“I think that’s why I reacted so strongly to it afterwards. But as I said, and the team also said, the air is cleared in this sense and we all have a fresh start here.”

The Baku race stewards did not watch the incident, but Schumacher said he believed stronger action would be taken if it did occur again.

“I think if it happens again there will probably be more severe consequences,” said Schumacher.

“But even in this case, probably because it was an incident between teammates, it is likely to be kept more internally than openly and, in this case, handled by the race director or the stewards.

“But as I said, I think if it happens again it will be addressed to the commissioners and the race director for sure.”