Mazepin angry at Schumacher: 'Then you learn his true face'

For Nikita Mazepin, his 2022 season is over before it had a chance to begin. After the shakedown in Barcelona, he was supposed to start the F1 season in Bahrain this week, but Haas has sidelined the Russian because of the war in Ukraine. Unfair, according to Mazepin. He had to find out through his team's press release that he would not be an F1 driver this season.

In a self-organized press conference, at which the AD was present, the former Haas driver responded for the first time to questions from the press about the termination of his contract. However, he also avoided many questions, including those about his father's ties to the Kremlin. Mazepin did not want to say whether he thought he still had a chance for an F1 seat, with that background.

Mazepin heard nothing from Schumacher

Following the announcement by Haas, Mazepin received many messages of support. Sergio Pérez, George Russell, Valtteri Bottas and Charles Leclerc, among others, made themselves heard. After all, as Mazepin himself also says, it is a boyhood dream come true for the 23-year-old driver. From his teammate, Mick Schumacher, however, Mazepin has heard nothing. "In difficult moments, you get to know the true faces of the people around you," according to the Russian.

This season, Mazepin will continue to work on his fitness from Moscow, as he plans to return in the coming years. For that, the war between Russia and Ukraine will first have to be brought to an end. A war that Mazepin referred to several times in the press conference as "a conflict" that Western countries "cannot fully oversee."