Nikita Mazepin had what was his best Formula 1 race yet in Portimao, even if it did feature its fair share of controversy following yet another spin in practice.
Two races ago, it didn’t seem possible. Yet in his third career Formula 1 start, Haas rookie Nikita Mazepin actually went a whole race without spinning.
Mazepin finished in 19th place in Sunday’s Portuguese Grand Prix at Algarve International Circuit after Kimi Raikkonen was knocked out of the 20-car event early on as a result of an accident.
It marked the first time the 22-year-old Russian has ever run a race without a single spin. He crashed on the opening lap of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit and he spun on the final lap of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari.
However, he did still manage to cause controversy in Sunday’s race.
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Late in the race, while running in a distant last place among the drivers left following Raikkonen’s incident, he was given the blue flags five times when it came to letting race leader Sergio Perez pass him. He finally obeyed.
That delay prompted a “f****** idiot” remark from the 31-year-old Red Bull driver on the radio, and it also led to Mazepin being issued a five-second time penalty for disobeying the blue flags. At that point in the race, he had already been lapped; he wasn’t trying to stay on the lead lap. Perez was aiming to put him two laps down.
It made no difference in the outcome of the race, as Mazepin finished almost a full lap behind 18th place finisher Nicholas Latifi when it was all said and done anyway.
Meanwhile, rookie teammate Mick Schumacher finished in a respectable, and actually quite impressive, 17th place, marking the first time he has finished ahead of somebody other than his teammate, excluding drivers taken out in incidents.
The next step for Mazepin should be the following: finish a race without making any headlines whatsoever (for the wrong reasons, of course), and go an entire race weekend without a single spin.
Despite not spinning during Sunday’s race itself, he fell shy of the latter with a spin in the race’s third and final practice session.
Still, in addition to this weekend marking the first time he did not spin in a race, it marked the first time he spun fewer than three times throughout an entire weekend, and he only spun once. So once again, it was a step in the right direction.
But it may be awhile before he manages to finish ahead of another driver, excluding those forced to retire, considering just how far off the pace he continues to be.
It is a quick turnaround for Formula 1, as the series is set to head to Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, May 9, marking the first time in Mazepin’s career in which there hasn’t been an off weekend between races. This race is set to be broadcast live on ESPN beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET.