For the Formula 1 season 2021, the Haas F1 team is moving forward with two new drivers. While it was common knowledge that the American outlet was unhappy with the performance of current drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean, the announcement was difficult to spot as these two drivers are most likely to be used in F1.
The two veterans will be replaced by two young F2 graduates, both of whom have no prior F1 racing experience. However, both bring money and experience, two things the Haas team needs.
Let’s check out the new kids on the Haas team block.
Mick Schumacher
If the last name sounds familiar, it’s because it should. Mick is the son of seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher and won the Formula 2 championship in 2020 with a 14 point lead over Callum Ilott.
Even if it looks like Schumacher is only here in name, the 21-year-old German has an impressive racing history.
Schumacher has two runner-up points in Formula 4. In 2016 Schumacher tried both the German and the Italian championship, scored 5 wins each and lost the title to Joey Mawson and Marcos Siebert, respectively.
In 2017, Schumacher rose to Formula 3 with Prema Racing and took the title in his second year in the series. Won the championship in 2018 with eight wins and also ran the Macau Grand Prix as 5th.
For his F2 career, Schumacher would switch to Prema in 2019. With a win and a 12th place finish in the first season, Schumacher’s performance led many skeptics to wonder if he was indeed the real deal. He responded to these critics in 2020.
With two wins and 10 podium places, Schumacher prevailed against Ilott in a dramatic final in Bahrain. This contributed to Schumacher being signed to a Formula 1 team. Alfa-Romeo was considered to be the front runner at Schumacher, but when they recruited their current drivers, Haas picked him up.
To date, Schumacher only has a little bit of F1 experience, namely a test session during the Eifel Grand Prix in Germany. However, he has never driven an F1 car in a race. Schumacher fans should be ready to dampen their expectations for something great to start considering he still drives a Haas that is usually at the bottom of the grid.
“The prospect of being in Formula 1 next year makes me incredibly happy and I’m simply speechless,” said Schumacher.
“I would like to thank the Haas F1 Team, Scuderia Ferrari and the Ferrari Driver Academy for their trust. I also want to acknowledge and pass on my love to my parents – I know that I owe everything to them. “
Nikita Mazepin
The young Russian Nikita Mazepin was announced as the first driver. As the son of Russian oil billionaire Dimitry Mazepin, Nikita last drove in Formula 2 for the Hitech GP team.
His career started rather slowly, as Mazepin didn’t move to F3 until 2016. After winning the British F3 Championship at Snetterton, he brought his talents to the GP3 in 2018 and rode with ART. With 4 wins, 8 podiums and a second place in GP3, Mazepin lost the title by 16 points to the late Anthoine Hubert.
His Formula 2 campaigns were nothing special, with a total of two wins and fifth place as the best score. Mazepin also competed in the F3 Asian Championship, scoring a win and a 3rd place in the points classification.
On December 1st, it was announced that Mazepin will be driving a Haas F1 car in 2021, along with teammate Schumacher.
“To become a Formula 1 driver is a lifelong dream for me,” said Mazepin.
“I really appreciate the trust that Gene Haas, Günther Steiner and the entire team have placed in me. They give a young driver a chance and I thank them for that. I’m looking forward to the start of our mutual relationship on and off the track and of course I would like to prove my skills even after a strong Formula 2 season. “
Mazepin’s future and the events of December 9th
To address the elephant in the room, Mazepin’s future with the team could be in jeopardy. On December 9, a video posted on Mazepin’s Instagram account showed the driver groping a passenger in his car, which met with visible resistance from the woman.
Haas is now stuck in this situation between a rock and a hard place. While Mazepin apologized for his actions and stated that he would do better, Haas deemed the actions “hideous” and said the matter was being handled internally.
Should Haas let Mazepin go, they would lose millions in funds from Uralchem, Mazepin’s father’s company. With the team strapped for money, the downside is that they allow them to stay but their public image is gutted by the scandal.
This is one of the, if not the most difficult, decisions the team has to make. More news will follow and Frontstetch will update this story if there is any news.
diploma
These are the two drivers who will line up for Haas in 2021. With Mazepin’s status now in question, I can still see him driving at least 2021.
Schumacher will become the star driver of the team and will try to make a good impression on the superiors of Ferrari, for whom Schumacher is committed in her academy. While the full potential of either driver is not really seen in a Backmarker car, they will try to use George Russell as inspiration and give it their all on the track.
Anything can happen in Formula 1 and can happen to any driver.
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