Rookie driver, Nikita Mazepin has had a tough time adjusting to Formula One. He has often gotten on the wrong side of drivers, such as Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, due to his driving style. However, Lando Norris did defend him on Twitch and Mazepin was thankful to the McLaren driver for doing that.
Mazepin stated that his manager shared the video with him, and was pleased to hear that someone on the grid was on his side. The 22-year-old hopes that he can maintain a good relationship with Norris in the coming years.
Nikita Mazepin grateful to Lando Norris for defending him
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Speaking to Sport.Ru, Mazepin said, “His video was forwarded by my manager, who used to work with Lando. He is a young guy, a very successful racer, but has repeatedly found himself in difficult career situations.”
He added, “As far as I know, during the stream, he simply disagreed with the viewers who caught the hate wave. I was sincerely pleased, I have always had a good relationship with him – I hope they will remain the same,” he explained. (Translated from Russian via Google)
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What did Lando say to defend Nikita?
The Bahrain GP was the first race for Mazepin. However, it didn’t go as planned since he spun and crashed in the opening laps of the race. His haters were quick to make fun of it, later in the race, his teammate, Mick Schumacher spun as well, so Norris told his fans sarcastically to make of that as well.
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He said, “Oh, he does spin. Yeah, go on start hating on Mick as well alright? Just because he spun. You start going ‘haha funny Mazepin’. They (Schumacher and Mazepin) make it even, right? Go on everyone, start hating on him as well, alright?”
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However, Mazepin is still finding it hard to keep the car under control, as he spun in other races as well. He hopes to learn from his mistakes and improve as he makes his mark in the sport of Formula One.
Read More: Nikita Mazepin Pins Blame on Haas F1 Car for Recent Struggles and Spins