Todt not happy with Mazepin situation: 'That will have serious consequences'

He debuts at the same time as Mick Schumacher and yet Nikita Mazepin has managed to be the most talked about debutant on the F1 grid in 2021. It's not for the right reasons, we know the story by now, and it doesn't make his debut any easier either.

As a rule, all attention is a bonus for young racing talents. Mazepin, however, already has such a bad reputation for his actions on and off the track that he will be subjected to extra scrutiny next season. The FIA, for example, has given Mazepin a stern talking-to after the infamous video in which he grabbed a woman by the breasts.

"To be very clear, I am not happy with the situation," Todt said in an interview for the Cambridge Union Society. "He has been given a warning that if it happens again it will have serious consequences. That said, it happened in his private life, so I hope he just learned his lesson."

Mazepin deserves his place in Formula 1

The Mazepin controversy also saw calls on the internet for the young Russian to be banned from Formula One altogether. The FIA, however, does not want to go that far, as Mazepin has earned his place fairly.

"Any driver who achieves 40 points [on his super licence] can drive in Formula One. And Mazepin got those points. So why shouldn't he drive in Formula 1? That would be discrimination. The only reason why he could not drive in Formula 1 is that he could not have access to a super licence, which is not the case," Todt said.