Ex-Formula 1 driver Nicolas Kiesa slammed Nikita Mazepin, effectively saying that he knows the fact that nothing he does is going to cost him.
Haas rookie Nikita Mazepin has been justifiably criticized throughout the first four races of his Formula 1 career.
Before he made his debut in March, he was faced with criticism over some of his actions and his responses to those actions away from the track, and he had never been considered among the most well-behaved drivers on the track on his ascent to Formula 1 either.
Additionally, the 22-year-old Russian is a pay driver. His billionaire father Dmitry is funding his racing career, and that naturally stirs up criticism among fans, especially with everything else factored into the equation. In fact, Dmitry’s company, Uralkali, is serving as the title sponsor of Haas, and that deal led to the team’s car taking on a completely new and controversial livery for 2021.
Nikita’s first four races have left a lot to be desired, but suffice it to say that most expected him to struggle to the extent that he has.
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He has already spun out 11 times, he has not yet finished ahead of a single competitor in any race, and he has already ruffled quite a few feathers with his lack of respect while driving, whether that be in practice sessions, qualifying sessions, or the races themselves.
Ex-Formula 1 driver Nicolas Kiesa, who himself spent time competing for a backmarker team, slammed Mazepin’s attitude. Kiesa noted that Mazepin knows the fact that no matter what he does, his dad is going to continue to fund his career, and so nobody should be surprised if nothing changes in terms of how he conducts himself.
Here is what the 43-year-old Dane, who finished between 11th and 16th place in all five of his starts with Minardi back in 2003, had to say about the matter to Danish newspaper BT.
"“Mazepin disrespects the agreements made between drivers, especially in qualifying. When it comes to your behavior and conduct on the track, it makes a difference to know that whatever you do, dad is always going to keep paying.“You definitely can’t have that mentality when you come from Scandinavian countries. We have to behave properly and not do too much on our own initiative, until we have earned enough money to be able to say ‘okay, I’m good enough’.”"
Ironically, one of the drivers whom Haas cut after the 2020 season to make way for Mazepin and his father’s checkbook was Kevin Magnussen, who, like Kiesa, hails from Denmark.
Mazepin is set to make his fifth career Formula 1 start in this Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix at Circuit de Monaco, which is set to be broadcast live on ESPN beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET.