Mazepin Explains His Near-Crash With Hamilton in Turkey – “I Was Driving Blind”

Despite securing pole position at the Turkish GP, Lewis Hamilton started the race at P11, thanks to an engine penalty. The Briton quickly made up places and moved into the top 5. However, halfway through the race, Hamilton was involved in a near-miss incident.

As the Mercedes driver was charging through the field, he came across one of the backmarkers, Nikita Mazepin. The young Russian driver was shown the blue flags, but he decided not to give the inside line to Lewis Hamilton. On the other hand, the Briton seemed convinced that Mazepin should give him the way.

The duo nearly avoided the collision after the Knight moved to the outside line and then overtook the Haas driver a few hundred meters later. Meanwhile, after the race, Nikita Mazepin reveals his near-miss incident with Lewis Hamilton.

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What did Nikita Mazepin say?

As reported by Motorsport, Nikita Mazepin apologized to Lewis Hamilton and explained what happened on lap 28 at the end of the Turkish Grand Prix.

“First of all, I would like to sincerely apologize to Lewis. I am extremely sorry. I had told the team that I could not see anything from the mirrors and that I needed an adequate guide from the garage to know where the other cars were,” said Nikita Mazepin. (Translated via Google Translate)

“The problem turned out to be the water spray. In Turkey, it’s not exactly the cleanest we’ve found so far. So it flies and then dries up, not showing me anything. I was driving blind. I will definitely see Lewis and apologize directly to him,” concluded the Haas driver.

Yuki Tsunoda encountered the same problem

Yuki Tsunoda started the race P9 – two places ahead of Lewis Hamilton. The Japanese driver kept Hamilton at bay for eight laps to hamper his recovery drive, which ultimately helped Max Verstappen regain his lead in the championship.

The Mercedes driver eventually passed Tsunoda on lap 9 at turn three and a few laps later, the AlphaTauri driver spun.

“There wasn’t a clean area of ​​the track. I couldn’t see anything because of the dirt and dust,” said Yuki Tsunoda after the race.

“On the other hand, I thought I had someone behind and I started to push. I turned around and ruined my race,” added the young Japanese driver.

Read More: Lewis Hamilton Denies Being Furious With Mercedes Despite F1 Radio Outburst at Turkish GP

Should Nikita Mazepin receive a penalty on his license after a near-miss incident with Lewis Hamilton at Istanbul Park? What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.