MANAMA (Reuters) – Russian billionaire son Nikita Mazepin will run for Haas in 2021 after signing a multi-year contract, the US Formula 1 team announced on Tuesday.
FILE PHOTO: F1 Formula 1 – Formula 1 Test Session – Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, Montmelo, Spain – February 26, 2018 Nikita Mazepin in a Force India car testing by REUTERS / Albert Gea / File Photo
The 21-year-old is currently third in the Formula 2 classification and is expected to be supported in Haas next season by F2 leader Mick Schumacher, son of the Ferrari star and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher.
“To become a Formula 1 driver is a lifelong dream for me,” said Mazepin in a team statement before the Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain.
Mazepin’s father, Dmitry, owns Russian fertilizer maker Uralchem and tried to buy the Force India team after going into administration in 2018, losing to Canadian Lawrence Stroll.
Mazepin Sr. is taking legal action in London against the former co-administrators of Force India through the Uralkali business, which he co-owns, after they accepted Stroll’s offer.
Stroll’s son Lance now drives for the renamed Racing Point team, which will be renamed Aston Martin next year.
Nikita Mazepin has won two Formula 2 races and taken four more podium places this season. The Formula 2 season ends this weekend in Bahrain.
“This year Nikita underlined his references in Formula 2,” said Haas team boss Günther Steiner.
“He has developed into a mature racing driver who moves up the junior ranks – most recently in the GP3 series, where he was runner-up in 2018, and of course in the last two seasons in Formula 2.
Haas announced in October that the Frenchman Romain Grosjean, who was involved in a serious accident in Bahrain last Sunday, and the Dane Kevin Magnussen would leave at the end of the year.
Grosjean said at the announcement that Steiner had told him “I need you both out for financial reasons”.
Steiner, who openly recognizes both money and talent in driver selection, said last week that the team’s great success this year has been survival.
With just three points from 15 races in a season affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ferrari-driven team is ninth out of ten in the overall standings.
Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London; Editing by Alison Williams and Andrew Cawthorne
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