F1 News: Nikita Mazepin Hints At Motorsport Return In Surprise Interview
Russian driver Nikita Mazepin has teased a return to motorsport but says "I can't tell you about it" as nothing has been signed yet.
Mazepin drove for Haas in 2021 and was due to compete for the team in 2022, however, the team cut ties with him and their title sponsor Uralkali which was headed by his father Dmitry Mazepin. The decision as part of the global response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. As well the team not wanting to have ties to Russia, Dmitry has a close connection to Russia president Vladimir Putin.
During an interview with Tass, Mazepin insists he is making a return to motorsport. He explained:
"I did that [the Silky Way Rally] out of pleasure and fortunately the pleasure led to victory.
"But I don't see myself as a professional rally driver. Silk Way is a wonderful competition but for a non-rally driver to really prepare, you'd have to put everything else aside.
"Next year I will also compete for myself in a new discipline outside of our country, but so far there are no signatures. So I can't tell you about it.
“There is the desire, of course, to continue to compete in motorsport. My goal is to return to Formula 1 so that is the direction I will work in."
Guenther Steiner, Haas team principal, spoke to Speedcafe about the decision to part ways with the Mazepin's and backed his decision. The Italian team principal explained:
“We couldn’t take any other decision after the invasion of Ukraine. I think looking back, I think we did the right thing. But no, it didn’t have any impact [financially].
“It certainly impacted the beginning [of the season]. There was a lot of work to be done to get back to where we wanted to be. But otherwise, once we got racing in Bahrain, you see how fast life in F1 is.
“There was never looking back, just let’s get the best out of it. We’ve got an opportunity. It was a challenge. But the challenge gave us an opportunity. Let’s focus on that and let’s keep going.”
The team dropped Mazepin in early March so they brought Danish driver Kevin Magnussen back very last minute. However, he proved he was worthy of the seat in the first race of the season achieving fifth place in Bahrain, securing his first ten points of the year, which is ten more than Mazepin in the whole of 2021.