Nikita Mazepin after falling from the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix
• Haas F1 newcomer Nikita Mazepin had to have a good race on Sunday, more than anyone.
• Mazepin’s confidence knocked again after a DNF in his debut race.
• Team boss Gunther Steiner says that the young driver’s turbulent preseason could have contributed to his performance.
• For more stories about driving, see Wheels24.
Gunther Steiner has admitted that Nikita Mazepin’s turbulent preseason could have contributed to his terrible first racing weekend in Formula 1.
The 22-year-old Russian rookie was one of the most recognizable characters of the preseason 2021 as he was the subject of a vitriolic and constant hate campaign on social media.
Then, when the season finally began, he spun several times, broke a “gentlemanly agreement” in qualifying, struggled to match teammate Mick Schumacher’s pace, and finally crashed on his first lap of the race.
“Nikita was very upset about it,” said Haas team boss Steiner. “I told him not to lower his head and keep working instead.
“Of course there is nothing good about what happened, but it has already happened and nothing can be changed now. Nikita was very hard on himself for his mistake.
“Now he’s ready to get back on track and keep attacking.”
READ | F1 Twitter fans crush Nikita ‘Mazespin’ after a disastrous debut in Bahrain
Steiner admits that Mazepin’s tumultuous prep time may have contributed to his state of mind in Bahrain.
“You always want to prove yourself,” he said. “I don’t know how much it affected him, but he seemed in a good place when we started the test.
“I don’t want to blame the criticism, but it’s certainly not an advantage to have a winter like him,” added Steiner.
Former Russian F1 driver Sergey Sirotkin believes Steiner may rightly suspect that Mazepin is buckled up under the pressure of the recently harsh headlight.
“His situation is clearly not the easiest,” the former Williams driver told Sport-Express.
“I’m not even talking about his debut, I’m talking about how it all started with the last Formula 2 races and the off-season. This is not the most comfortable position to prepare for your Formula 1 debut,” Sirotkin told the Russian Daily newspaper .
He also said it remains true that Mazepin’s angry critics are now “waiting for him to make another mistake to berate him for”.
“In Formula 1, good relationships with all participants are very important for success. This whole story – how it began and how it developed in the first race – does not help the situation to improve,” said Sirotkin.
Haas boss Steiner also admits that the car of the American team in 2021 is “not that easy to drive”.
The post “Criticism” could have hurt Nikita Mazepin in Bahrain – Haas F1 boss first appeared on monter-une-startup.
