Nikita Mazepin endured a tough rookie season in Formula 1, as he was often outpaced by Haas teammate Mick Schumacher.
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It’s no exaggeration to say that Haas F1 team driver Nikita Mazepin did not have the most easy of debut seasons in the sport.
Indeed, Mazepin endured a tough rookie season in Formula 1, as he was often outpaced by Haas teammate Mick Schumacher.
Incidentally, it’s not the first time he has struggled in such circumstances. His debut season in Formula 2 was similar in that regard. And, according to Mazepin, things got worse before they got better.
The reason for this was self-inflicted, as by his own admission he made things worse.
“Well, I think it’s positive regardless because myself like anybody else, we have a lot of different struggles regardless of what the picture may look like from the outside,” Mazepin told GPFans.
“And that can be very simple things from I don’t know, just not feeling well, not feeling energised and struggling to sleep, for example, and it can be certainly some deeper things.
“I live and breathe my racing. I don’t really have much more than that in my life and it’s important to feel successful and feel the purpose of living for everybody.
“And at times when things aren’t going well, and I can certainly remember 2019, I really struggled.
“I was in a bad place. I felt that I was struggling mentally but I didn’t really know how to approach it, I also didn’t speak to anyone about it.
“Unfortunately, looking back at it, there was an opportunity to give it new life for that season when I was in F2 for first year.
“But due to my inexperience, I just made it worse. And it started to impact other areas of my life such as university.”
The 2021 season, which was Mazepin’s first full year in Formula 1, began on a poor note. He spun many times in practice and in qualifying in the Bahrain GP. He then made things worse with a spin on the first lap of the race.
His constant penchant for spinning led to F1 fans jokingly dub him “Mazespin”. And for the Russian, the Bahran GP is what he considers a low point for himself.
“I think, after Bahrain, I felt in the more difficult place,” added Mazepin.
“But I learned a very good lesson that you need to always remember that things can be worse and regardless of where you stand, you shouldn’t just give up on trying to recover the stretch.
“In that respect, Bahrain was a very low [point].”
It is worth noting that Mazepin improved a lot in F2 after his poor 2019 season. But it remains to be seen if he can do the same in his second year in F1.
