Haas F1 Boss Claims Nikita Mazepin ‘Beats Himself up Pretty Badly’

Nikita Mazepin had a difficult off-season riddled with controversy and criticism. A difficult pre-season testing did not make things any easier. The Russian later claimed he would prove his critics all wrong by doing what he does best- driving. However, things did not work out for him as planned as he had to settle for a dismal F1 debut.

It was a nightmare of a debut and one of the worst days for Nikita Mazepin as he crashed in the first lap of his debut race. Haas F1 boss, Guenther Steiner, explained that the Russian driver was very frustrated with himself by the end of the race.

“Yeah, he was pretty beat up. I just said to him to keep his head up and keep on going. For sure it’s not ideal what happened, but it happened.”

“He beats himself up pretty badly after but he’s ready to go again. We pushed him up again, but otherwise Mick [Schumacher] did a good job. So at least we got half of what we wanted to achieve, 50 per cent there,” said Guenther Steiner.

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Nikita Mazepin under pressure due to off-season criticism?

Mazepin’s off-season began with a major controversy. Following that, he was subjected to significant criticism for being promoted to Formula 1. Guenther Steiner explained how all the pressure could have led Mazepin to push too hard during the race.

“I don’t know how much it affects you. Nobody, especially at a young age, can take that one out completely. He seemed to be in a good place when we started testing. He started in a pretty good place.”

Nikita Mazepin came out of turn 2 of the circuit and over-accelerated. He pushed too hard, looking to overtake and gain some positions, and ended up in the barriers. The accident put the American team in the back seat.

Haas F1 had the worst possible start to their 2021 campaign. They had one driver retire at the beginning of lap 1. Meanwhile, the second driver lost control and ended up at the end of the grid for the rest of the race.

They seem to be the slowest team on the grid, and their primary goal would be to not end up at the bottom of the table. Do you think Haas F1 will end up at P10 this season?