Nikita Mazepin ahead of Austrian doubleheader – I think it’s a circuit I can be good

   
Nikita Mazepin
#9 driver Uralkali Haas F1 Team

The Red Bull Ring hasn’t been the kindest track to you in terms of results from your time in Formula 2 in 2019 and 2020 – a pair of top 10 finishes your best results in six race starts. What memories do you have from the circuit from your junior career?

“The Red Bull Ring hasn’t been so bad. I think it’s a circuit I can be good at presuming I feel comfortable in the car. In 2019, I didn’t get myself around to the car balance and I wasn’t very happy with the way the car was.

In 2020, it was the first round of the championship and unfortunately my car broke down in the first free practice therefore I went out in qualifying and just missed out on a top-10 finish, which I believe was a very good result after not driving for six months.

Then, we had a 25-second pitstop in the second race which also put us down in the time sheets but in terms of the times, we were there, and I’m hoping that this gradual improvement with luck and performance will continue from there onwards.”

Describe a lap of the Red Bull Ring and what you expect there behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car?

“The track is rather short if you look at the track map, and also looking at it you might think that it’s very straightforward. However, I think it’s a real car circuit – if the car is good there, the driver is able to extract some great lap times.

There are very few slow speed corners on the track and it’s dominated by much more high-speed so I’m looking forward to seeing what the VF-21 feels like out there.”

You experienced back-to-back races in Austria last season to start the Formula 2 season. This year you’re doing the double again at the Red Bull Ring in Formula 1. Do you think a second race at the same circuit, just one week apart, allows you more of an opportunity to benchmark your progress in the VF-21 and with the team?

“I genuinely do think it will be interesting to race back-to-back at the circuit. As a rookie in Formula 1, you often feel you’re not getting enough time behind the wheel, especially with free practices being shortened, so I think it will definitely put everybody much closer together with two weeks of racing on the same circuit and hopefully FP1, 2 and 3 will be a bit more straightforward.

I’ve never done 90-minute FP1’s like other drivers have, however it doesn’t feel short to me having three free practices available when I’m used to one 45-minute free practice before qualifying. I think Formula 2 brings you up in a very strict manner so that you appreciate it in Formula 1.”

The second race in Austria will see a different tire compound selection available – moving from Pirelli’s C2-C3-C4 range for the Styrian Grand Prix to the softer selection of C3-C4-C5 for the Austrian Grand Prix.What are the challenges in running different compounds at the same track on consecutive weekends and how steep is the learning curve with the new, shortened 60-minute practice sessions this season?

“I don’t think the challenges will be that big. I’m a big fan of soft tires because they ultimately feel better on a single push and they also need less warm-up time, however that comes at a cost of tires going away quicker.

For me, it’s a little bit difficult to predict what it’s going to be now. I just believe on a track like Austria which is very smooth, being on the softest compound available will make it easier to warm-up the tires and potentially a more interesting race for the fans with the tires going away.”
    

Stuart Morrison-  photo Haas F1

 
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