Steiner advises Mazepin: "Everybody beats up on him, that makes it tougher"

Nikita Mazepin already had a bad reputation before the season started and that didn't improve with his performance in Bahrain. At the circuit of Imola, the Russian hoped to start with a fresh start, but here too things went wrong several times on Friday. For Guenther Steiner, it was a good reason to support his driver in difficult times.

The Haas team boss is known to be tough on his drivers, but in Mazepin's case, he is not giving a kick after while he is already on the ground. " I said you need to keep your head high, you know? These things happen and obviously, in the moment he’s the beat-up boy. Everybody beats up on him. That makes it tougher”, Steiner is quoted as saying by MotorsportWeek.com

His outings on Friday at Imola will indeed give Mazepin little confidence, but it seems, according to his team boss, that the youngster is following the advice. "Today he’s in a good place at the debrief, even if he spun out because he sees he’s improving and he’s learning. he said. Mazepin is just a little too eager to prove himself, according to Steiner.

"At some stage, they [the spins] need to be reduced but he’s trying very hard and I guess he’s trying sometimes a little bit too hard – but he needs to find that limit but it’s for him to find, not us", Steiner said.