On the first lap, Schumacher went inside the Russian at the hairpin. The two drivers walked side by side around the corner before the German appeared in front.
Schumacher later had a problem with fuel pressure that slowed him down and forced him to let Mazepin pass. The pair eventually finished 17th and 18th in a race with unusually little wear.
“Yes, it was very close,” said Mazepin when asked about the first lap by Motorsport.com. “It was one of those corners where it is even too slow for Formula 1. You have to retract the clutch so that you don’t get into a car in front.
“And I just pulled myself together and had to stay where I was. And I felt like if you are fighting for P19 or P18 and there is a huge risk of leaving both cars there for the rest of the race and I just didn’t want to go into the garage and be responsible for it. So I wanted to drive fairly and the race was long. “
Mazepin said his teammate also played fair when he had the technical problem.
“There was no confusion,” he said. “I think that’s life sometimes.
“I was very fair on the first lap. He was very fair later. And I think we have a good relationship on the team and we should keep it that way. “
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Mazepin noticed that it wasn’t an easy race. He called the Haas car and worn tires a “sad combination” as he tried to run for a long time in the first stint.
“The race went through different phases, I would say. It felt very challenging out there, the car on the road is difficult to drive.
“And since this track is so difficult to overtake, everyone stays outside until there are no more tires in the car. And this car without tires is a very sad combination, I would say.
“But yeah, I’m happy with myself. I was this weekend and I expected it to be a challenge because when you have a difficult balance on a track like Barcelona, going to Monaco is of course a disaster.
“But I’m very happy with what we’ve done as a team. I’m very happy for my internal group that has worked very hard since Barcelona to understand me and I think this weekend has shown that they understand me and that is ultimately the road to success until ’22. “
He added: “A very positive day. Of course we have to find a lot as a team. I have never had so many blue flags in my life. And that’s pretty sad. But I think we will get there. “
Mazepin believes that with low downforce the Haas could be more competitive in Baku.
“Well, it’s a completely different challenge. We have a track with high downforce here where we lack downforce. I think we could have a chance there because the engine is better this year.
“And we don’t have a lot of downforce, and you don’t really need a lot on this type of track. It will be my second time, like Monaco, and I’m just looking forward to it. “
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