Nikita Mazepin; the name triggers a lot of hate in and around the F1 community, not only for his infamous off-track history but also for his evident on-track struggles since the very start of this season.
There is no denying that the Russian is pushing a bit too hard in a bid to defeat his teammate, Mick Schumacher. However, so far, pretty much nothing has worked out, as the German continues to overpower Mazepin weekend in weekend out.
Despite pulling off such disappointing performances, Mazepin had often stayed strong. But, it was only a matter of time before the hate and pressure make their way into his head.
And it finally did at Interlagos. Mazepin broke down during the post-qualifying interview with Lawrence Barretto. For the first time in over 2 years, Haas looked quite decent, at least, comparatively.
However, Mazepin squandered the chance of potentially beating one of the Williams drivers after messing up his final Q1 run with a mistake around turn 12.
Nikita Mazepin breaks down following a tough F1 qualifying
From the very start of the interview, Mazepin was holding off the tears, as he went on to acknowledge he was indeed on a good lap only to make mistakes in the end. “Yeah. I was in a good lap and then just made mistakes,” he said during the interview in the paddock.
Furthermore, he reckoned he had the pace to defeat Williams despite never driving a lap around Interlagos, even on a simulator. “Felt good, I think, it was all day to actually be close to Williams. Still a good quali, but tried too hard. Definitely, I think the guys did a really good job. I’ve never driven the sim here and, yeah,” he added.
The pressure is visibly getting to Mazepin, who is still searching for a way to prove that he is worthy enough to compete in F1. Although part-blame falls on himself, Haas hold part of the responsibility as well amidst their recent struggles.
Hence, can Haas and Mazepin somehow find a way to end each other’s poor run by as early as the 2022 F1 season? Well, only time will tell.
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