The Russian driver Nikita Mazepin has made a name for himself. The Haas F1 driver often annoyed several of his contemporaries on the racetrack. With this in mind, Alpine Racing driver Esteban Ocon confessed that he was “afraid” of what Nikita Mazepin might do next.
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By the time he made his F1 debut, Mazepin had already tarnished his reputation with questionable social media content. Unfortunately, his on-track actions in the last four races have done little to popularize him with fans or rivals.
In the last few races, the Haas F1 driver has managed to hinder a number of drivers in practice or qualifying. In the most recent incident, he ignored the blue flags during the Spanish Grand Prix and asked Mercedes to complain to the FIA.
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Now Ocon has confessed that he has to look over his shoulder near Mazepin. He said, “Am I afraid of him? Yes / Yes. When we cross on the track, I treat him 200 percent more carefully than any other driver. “
Will Nikita Mazepin have any consequences?
The Russian driver has already collected two penalty points in 4 races. If he scores another 10 points within 12 months, he will be banned from one race.
The first penalty point came at the Portuguese GP for blocking Sergio Perez, while the second came in Spain for blocking Lando Norris.
Formula 1 F1 – Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – Autodromo Enzo and Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy – April 15, 2021 Haas’ Nikita Mazepin in the FIA press conference FIA / Handout via REUTERS
Mazepin dodged a bullet when avoiding a third one during the race. He passed just in time after receiving the blue flags as race director Lewis Hamilton approached.
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However, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff was not too happy with his response time. The 22-year-old’s only defense was that he never faced a situation where he would be lapped.
“It was the first time in my life that I encountered these blue flags in Imola,” he said. “I’ve never had a consistent blue flag before.
“So it’s about learning as well as driving. It took me about five, seven years to learn how to drive properly and hopefully it will take me a couple of race weekends to learn the blue flags. “
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So far, Mazepin has struggled to keep up with his celebrated teammate Mick Schumacher. Schumacher consistently qualified and surpassed Mazepin in all four races. Will the Russian redeem in Monaco or will we see more of them?
The post Esteban Ocon ‘200% more attentive’ when dealing with Nikita Mazepin on track first appeared on monter-une-startup.
