Haas team boss Günther Steiner suspects that Nikita Mazepin’s private tests with Mercedes contributed to his difficulties with the car.
Mazepin crashed from his first race on the first lap in Bahrain, had several other spins over the weekend and spun twice in the first practice session at Imola today. His last mistake left the car in the barriers, although Steiner is confident it will be fixed in time for the next session.
“At the last corner he climbed into the gravel and whirled around,” explained Steiner. “But I think the car isn’t too badly damaged, so we’re ready for practice two.”
Mazepin had a number of private tests with Mercedes prior to his debut this year, in addition to a public outing for Mercedes in 2019. He has refused to state how many times he drove the world champion’s car last year.
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Steiner suspects, however, that the Formula 2 graduate’s expectations of his car were shaped by his time at the wheel of the machine that has dominated the last few seasons.
Spin finished Mazepin’s first training run “He drove the Mercedes last year, I think he learned something, but he has to learn that our car is not as good as a Mercedes,” said Steiner.
“I’m very open to it. I’m not trying to hide the fact that the Mercedes is certainly a little less spirited than our car. “
Mazepin’s twists “need to be reduced,” Steiner emphasized. “But he’s trying very hard and I think he’s trying something a little too hard.
“He has to find that limit, but that’s it [for] to find him, not us. He has to find that. We can help him with that, but it’s one of the things, like I said, learning is painful. It is painful and hopefully at some point it will stop and he will be in a good place. “
Haas has hired two new drivers for the 2021 season. Mazepin’s team-mate Mick Schumacher also spun in last week’s race, but made it to the finish.
“We have time to learn all year round,” said Steiner. “Hopefully we don’t have the year to turn. But that’s exactly what we’re trying to do this year. “
Steiner told Mazepin to “keep his head up” after his tough debut in Bahrain. Criticism of his on-track performance has increased, in addition to concerns about his off-track behavior that emerged late last year.
“At the moment he’s the beaten boy,” said Steiner. “Everyone beats him up. But that makes you tougher. In the end you get on the better side.
“All you have to do is hold your head up, focus on your next race, and move on. He did that, he was here today, he was in a good place yesterday, and today he is in a good place at the debriefing.
“Even if he has turned himself out because he is improving and learning. That’s what he has to do. The only thing you can do in this situation is just move on and know that things went wrong but you know you can do better. “
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2021 Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna
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