Haas F1 team has confirmed Formula 2's Nikita Mazepin as one of its drivers for the 2021 season. The name of the second driver is yet to be announced, but it is likely that Mick Schumacher will get the seat next year. An announcement on the same is expected sometime later this week. Haas F1 Team has confirmed a multi-year deal with Mazepin. The American team switches to a completely new and rookie driving team for 2021, a big departure from seasoned drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, signalling a completely new direction for the Brackley-based outfit.
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Nikita Mazepin will also be the fourth Russian driver to compete in F1 after Vitaly Petrov, Daniil Kvyat and Sergey Sirotkin. The driver has won feature races at Silverstone and Mugello, along with four additional podiums and two fastest race laps during his 2020 campaign. The Hitech Grand Prix driver managed to secure a second-place finish in the Bahrain GP sprint race last Sunday, which catapulted him to third in the driver standings. He is now looking to complete the F2 season before making his F1 debut next year.
Nikita Mazepin has driven an F1 car and topped the timesheets in Barcelona's second in-season test day in May 2019 driving for Mercedes
Speaking on bringing Nikita Mazepin onboard, Guenther Steiner, Team Principal of Haas F1 Team said, "I'm delighted that Nikita Mazepin will be driving for Haas F1 Team next season. Nikita has underlined his credentials in F2 this year with a brace of victories and a handful of podiums in what's been a strong sophomore season for him. He's developed into a mature racer moving up through the junior ranks - notably most recently in the GP3 Series, where he finished runner-up in 2018, and obviously in Formula 2 over the past two seasons. I'm excited to see what Nikita can achieve in Formula 1 and we look forward to giving him the opportunity to compete at the highest level of world motorsport. With a record-setting 23 race schedule set for the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, he's going to get plenty of track action to learn all the nuances of grand prix racing."
Speaking on F1 debut, Nikita Mazepin said, "Becoming a Formula 1 driver is a lifelong dream come true for me. I really appreciate the trust being put in me by Gene Haas, Guenther Steiner, and the whole of the team. They're giving a young driver an opportunity and I thank them for that. I'm looking forward to starting our relationship together, both on and off the track, and I'm naturally keen to continue to demonstrate my abilities after a strong Formula 2 season. The team will be looking to me for feedback and inputs in order to refine its package for 2021 and beyond. I will take that responsibility on and can't wait to get started."
Also Read: Romain Grosjean & Kevin Magnussen To Leave Haas F1 Team At The End Of 2020
Nikita Mazepin is a part of the Hitech Grand Prix Team in F2 and has won feature races at Silverstone and Mugello this season
Mazepin started his motorsport journey with karting and graduated to single-seater cars in 2015, competing in Formula Renault 2.0 NEC. This was followed by two seasons in the Formula 3 European Championship, and then in the GP3 series in 2018 where he finished as the runner-up with four wins. This made way for his Formula 2 debut in 2019. Mazepin has had prior F1 test experience as well and topped the timesheets in Barcelona's second in-season test day in May 2019 driving for Mercedes. He's also been testing extensively on older F1 models and has received coaching from Mercedes' Formula E driver Stoffel Vandoorne.
