Mazepin is currently third in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with only one race weekend left at the Bahrain International Circuit. The 21-year-old driver won this main races at Silverstone and Mugello. After Vitaly Petrov, Daniil Kvyat and Sergey Sirotkin, he will become the fourth Russian driver in Formula 1.
Mazepin has come a long way towards Formula 1. Already in 2016 he tested at Silverstone for Force India and also in 2017 and 2018 he drove miles for that team. He has been associated with Mercedes since 2019. With that team he drove a test with the 2019 car in Barcelona last year and he also drove on several circuits with older models. He was coached by Stoffel Vandoorne.
The Russian and (probably later) Schumacher replaced Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen at Haas, a major change of course for the small stable of Gene Haas. It reflects the need to hire drivers who bring commercial support.
Steiner’s response
Mazepin’s announcement comes as no surprise. Team principal Guenther Steiner has always said that next season is the right time to work with young drivers so that they will be ready for the rule changes of 2022. He is of course pleased with the arrival of Mazepin. “Nikita has underlined his credentials in Formula 2 this year with a string of wins and a handful of podiums in what has been a strong second season for him. He has developed into a mature racer who has progressed through the junior classes, most notably in the GP3 Series, where he finished second in 2018, and of course in Formula 2 in the past two seasons. I can’t wait to see what Nikita can achieve in Formula 1. ”
Romain Grosjean’s horror crash and more is discussed in the latest episode of the GPUpdate Podcast:
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