The Russian has seen a baptism of fire after joining the Grand Prix field as a series of twists, crashes and criticism from rivals put him in the spotlight.
After taking the checkered flag for the first time at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix last weekend, Mazepin feels he is making the progress he needs – especially given the difficulty with which beginners must advance to Formula 1.
Thinking about how he and his teammate Mick Schumacher found the learning curve between F2 and F1, Mazepin said, “We are obviously both in the same position. So far, F1 has been surprisingly intense for me.
“I knew it was obviously intense, but the two qualifying sessions I had were pretty hectic. And the time is shorter and a lot of things happen. So, yeah, it’s a big learning curve.”
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Although Mazepin in Nicholas was involved in a first-round incident with Nicholas Latifi, his Haas sustained no damage and he was close to the goal.
Mazepin found reaching the checkered flag a huge boost as he missed valuable kilometers at the start of the F1 season after going nuts on the first lap.
“It’s very important to keep learning. It’s currently on an upward turn. But there is still a lot to do. It’s a completely different series than I’m used to driving and yes, it’s demanding.”
He also reckoned that he would try to better balance how far he was willing to do things to improve lap times, as he felt the risk of pushing for marginal profits was at this stage of his career was too big.
“I’m pretty sure I’ll be in this paddock for at least a couple of years so I don’t panic just yet,” he said.
“There’s a lot more to lose pushing and finding the walls than finding a few tenths. It’s a gradual build-up that I have to focus on: and I focus on it.”
Additional reporting from Oleg Karpov and Adam Cooper
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