It wasn’t an easy start for Haas driver Nikita Mazepin’s F1 campaign as the Russian has been constantly exposed to heat from his silly mishaps on the track, including twists and collisions.
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Unlike other rookie drivers, the numbers in terms of mistakes were quite high for Mazepin. And this bad form is of no use to the Haas F1 team either. Of course, fear of not scoring a point this season could haunt the team.
But besides, Haas is not a financially solid outfit. And any mistake Mazepin makes could put a strain on the entire team’s financial budget.
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During an interview, Haas’ boss, Günther Steiner, admitted and said that the more Mazepin breaks the car, the greater the financial damage.
What did Steiner say?
Steiner said that it was practically impossible to determine a “fixed accident budget”, since accidents with rather old parts in the car could sometimes occur. In this case, the budget is usually not burdened drastically.
“It always hurts the budget. But of course we took into account that there will be accidents. Here you go according to the empirical values from previous years. So there is no fixed accident budget, ”he told Auto Motor und Sport.
Formula 1 F1 – Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – Autodromo Enzo and Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy – April 17, 2021 Haas’ Nikita Mazepin during practice REUTERS / Jennifer Lorenzini
“It is also not always possible to simply make up for a loss of money. Sometimes a car had old parts that were at the end of their life anyway. “
Mazepin is certainly not doing well right now, and Steiner is very aware of that. As the young Russian’s boss, however, Steiner has no choice but to support Mazepin amid his ongoing struggles.
The Haas F1 driver’s battle-driven rookie season
Two race weekends have passed and Mazepin has proven to be little so far. While his first race didn’t go past Turn 3 on the first lap, the second race was much cleaner, yet horrible.
Mazepin collided with Nicholas Latifi during the race, but the stewards eventually called it a racing incident. Interestingly, however, this incident was only the tip of the iceberg.
Formula 1 F1 – Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – Autodromo Enzo and Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy – Haas’ Nikita Mazepin at the FIA press conference FIA / Handout via REUTERS
The Haas rider was terribly slow compared to his teammate Mick Schumacher, as the end result left almost a whopping 60-second gap between the two.
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This happened after Schumacher was thrown against the wall and driven across the circuit twice without a front wing before pitting for a new one. This was the tempo difference between the two.
But yeah, we saw incredible comebacks from drivers after a terrible series of forms. Mazepin desperately needs such a comeback. S0, can the Russian show his true potential in Portugal next weekend? Only time can tell.
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The post Nikita Mazepin’s mistakes always hurt the budget of the Haas F1 team: Steiner first appeared on monter-une-startup.
