Formula 1: This Nikita Mazepin statistic is embarrassing
By Asher Fair
The start of Nikita Mazepin’s Formula 1 career has been a disaster, and nothing does a better job of highlighting it that this unfortunate statistic.
There are many Nikita Mazepin statistics from the first four races of his rookie Formula 1 season that could be argued as fitting the bill when it comes to the title of this article. However, this one stands out quite a bit, and it’s not the fact that he has already spun out 11 times.
Entering the 2021 season, Haas were believed to be the slowest team on the grid, and that has proven to be the case. Even with Alfa Romeo and Williams having joined them as teams that have effectively given up on 2021 with their eyes already on next season, the sport’s lone American team have been by far the worst of the bunch.
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While rookie Mick Schumacher has pulled beyond his weight, including finishing ahead of Williams’ Nicholas Latifi in Portimao, Mazepin hasn’t done much to help the cause.
In fact, he hasn’t even been able to hold a candle to Schumacher through four qualifying sessions and four races.
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And that alone contributes to the following embarrassing statistic which the 22-year-old Russian has to his name through four starts. Read it carefully; you may have to go over it twice to fully grasp it: in the three races that Mazepin has finished, he has finished behind more drivers who have not finished than he has finished ahead of drivers who have finished.
How so? The only drivers Mazepin has managed to finish ahead of so far this season are drivers who have been forced to retire from races. He has not finished ahead of anybody on the track yet this season, and he hasn’t really even been close.
Yet he has actually managed to finish behind a driver who failed to finish a race. A total of 16 drivers finished the race in Imola, and Mazepin placed 17th. Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel retired his car late in the race and still ended up in 15th.
Schumacher also finished behind Vettel in this race, but he still finished more than a minute ahead of Mazepin. He has finished ahead of Mazepin in every race this season, plus Latifi in Portimao, so even his contributions in the VF-21 have been far greater than those of his rookie teammate, having consistently outperformed his competition.
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Will Mazepin finish ahead of a competitor at any point throughout the remaining 19 races of his rookie season? Race number five on the schedule is the Monaco Grand Prix, which is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 23. This race is set to be broadcast live on ESPN from Circuit de Monaco beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET.