Vicious Nikita Mazepin Gets Accused of Using His 4 Years of MMA Training Against Helpless Driver

The F1 world has known Nikita Mazepin for most of the wrong reasons. While we haven’t seen his racing skills in a decent car, given the Haas car of 2021 was quite slow; Mazepin has still made headlines. One such headline he made was with his F2 batch mate Callum Ilott.

Nikita Mazepin made his F1 debut in 2021 for the Haas F1 team. The Russian had shown decent performances in the 2020 F2 season, finishing 5th in the standings. He scored 164 points.

Meanwhile, there was an alleged incident between him and fellow driver, Callum Ilott. Speaking to the Red Flags Podcast, Ilott addressed the incident and stated that Mazepin punched him on one occasion.

He stated, “One occasion [Mazepin punched me], but yeah. One clean [punch] one and the other one I don’t know where it went. So, what’s funny about this is that we got along afterward, but you know things happen.”

Ilott explained the backstory that they had an incident on track that Mazepin did not take well. Apparently, Nikita had allegedly blocked Callum, coming out of the pits. In reply, the British driver sent an overtake into a corner on Mazepin, which probably pissed him off.

Callum further added that they had an argument about that. He added, “I probably said some things as I am good with words. And unfortunately, I got hit. He did MMA for a good 4 years and he had his helmet on and I didn’t.”

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Ilott was aware of the fact that he may regret the resulting punishment if he engaged in retaliation. Plus, he did not want to tackle Nikita’s MMA skills.

When Max Verstappen was the Nikita Mazepin for Esteban Ocon

Fist fights amongst F1 drivers are rare, but not unseen. One such major altercation happened between Max Verstappen and Esteban Ocon at the 2018 Brazilian GP. As the two drivers tangled with each other at Interlagos, costing Max a potential win that afternoon.

Esteban Ocon was trying to unlap himself on Lap 43 of the race and hit Verstappen going through the Senna’s S corners. Max was furious over the Force India (now Aston Martin) driver as he expressed the same on team radio at the end of the race.

But the matter did not end there, as the Red Bull driver caught up with Ocon near the weighbridge section and allegedly pushed him. The FIA officials intervened as Max was infuriated and wanted to punch the Frenchman.

Eventually, after meeting with stewards, the FIA penalized the Dutchman to conduct two days of public service for his inappropriate behavior. This was a classic example of how drivers should not be involved in physical fights, or else the officials will penalize them on behavioral grounds.

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Though there is no veracity of information about Mazepin punching Ilott and the resultant penalty, the duo will surely have gotten over it. Even Verstappen had said that they might laugh about such incidents 15 years down the line.

Let us know of any other fights among drivers that you are aware of.