Ex F1 driver Nikita Mazepin set to make racing return in iconic Le Mans series: Report

Nikita Mazepin, a former Formula 1 driver, will compete in the 2023 Asian Le Mans Series when he returns to international competition in February. The former Haas driver will compete for Racing 99, a brand-new contender for the championship in 2019. He will currently compete in the first and second rounds, the first of which will take place in Dubai and the second in Abu Dhabi. Despite the reports, the 23-year-old hasn’t said whether he will compete in the series, which is approved by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the governing body of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“I plan to compete in a new discipline outside of Russia,” Mazepin told the Russian source Championat. “I hope that it will be possible to talk more specifically about it in January.” His participation in the 2023 Dakar Rally was previously predicted because he had won his category at the Russian Silk Way Rally in November. But he later admitted that there would be “a lot of problems” if he participated in the renowned race in 2023.

For the most part, 2022 was a quiet year for Mazepin, who was fired from his position at Haas before the Bahrain Grand Prix’s opening round as a result of the start of the ongoing conflict in Eastern Europe. The FIA implemented new rules specifically for Russian drivers, which made it difficult for the majority of them to find a championship to compete in. In an effort to “put everything” right in the eyes of his critics, Mazepin continues to aim for a return to the pinnacle of motorsport “in the future” despite the current challenges.

“I had a plan this year to perform better than Mick (Schumacher),” said Mazepin. “But I really do not like these conversations, when you have to talk about hypotheticals. But if you look at the final day of testing in Barcelona, my last day in Formula 1, I was faster than him. Would it have worked out over the whole season? I hope to put everything in its right place in the future,” he added.