Mazepin indifferent: 'Problems at Haas irrelevant to me'

Looking ahead to his Formula One debut, Nikita Mazepin said he is not worried about the quality of the Haas in 2021, as performance is not yet his top priority.

“I think at this stage in my career, being a young driver, it’s irrelevant to speak whether the car is good or not," Mazepin explained in a chat with The-Race. Nevertheless, Mazepin knows not to expect too much from Haas, which faced its fair share of problems last season.

"I’m obviously aware that the team has had a difficult year, however, my focus is on getting ready for F1."

Good car or not, Mazepin argued, his promotion to the premier class of motorsport remains exciting. “I’m very much looking forward to it because graduating to F1 is going to be exciting regardless of how the performance of the car is," said the Russian. Next season he will fight for points alongside fellow debutant Mick Schumacher. 

Full calendar

As well as the hurdle of getting used to the new racing class, Mazepin expects the packed racing calendar of 2021 to be demanding as well. "The calendar is going to be also almost double what I’m used to so those are the challenges that are ahead of me and that is my focus for now.”