Haas team boss Günther Steiner believes that Nikita Mazepin’s ability to avoid headlines was “a very good thing” after his controversial start in Formula 1.
Mazepin sparked anger among the F1 fan base shortly after being named Haas driver after posting a video on social media of groping a passenger in a car.
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A number of incidents, including at Turn One of the Bahrain Grand Prix at the opening of the season, didn’t help the Russian, but in recent races Mazepin managed to avoid the limelight and reduce the number of mistakes.
“I mean, not being in the headlines he was in, that’s a very good thing,” Steiner told GPFans Global.
“I think while it seemed like an endless story at first, I wouldn’t say that once things start going away they never go away entirely, but they do wear off.
“Part of that is behavior. People have seen that he is not the person he wanted to portray.
“I would say that – and I said at the beginning – I didn’t know him until late last year or I said September, October last year so I didn’t know the guy but when I got to know him I said, ‘the People think he is what he is not ‘. ”
Although both Mazepin and team-mate Mick Schumacher continue to make mistakes in their rookie seasons, Steiner is happy about the decreasing frequency of such mistakes.
“The mistakes they made in the beginning, I think somehow you expect it as much as you don’t want to, but beginners you know,” he explained.
“They are trying to find their limits and they may be thinking and both of them have driven good F1 cars before.
“Nikita drove for Mercedes and Mick drove a Ferrari. If you get into one of our cars, especially this year’s car that is a bit more hauling, you make a few mistakes.
“But they are [the mistakes] are getting fewer and fewer and hopefully at some point in their career they won’t. “
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