Formula 1: The coldest Nikita Mazepin take of all-time has re-emerged

The coldest Nikita Mazepin take of all-time resurfaced after the 23-year-old Russian was dropped by Haas ahead of the 2022 Formula 1 season.

On Saturday morning, Haas confirmed that they would be cutting ties with title sponsor Uralkali prior to the start of the 2022 Formula 1 season, and with that announcement came the announcement that Nikita Mazepin would not be driving for the team in 2022.

The move was not unexpected, given the fact that Nikita’s father, Dmitry, is the CEO of Uralchem, which holds a controlling stake in Uralkali. He is one of the oligarchs who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and he and Putin have been closely linked before, having met multiple times.

Haas stripped the Uralkali branding from their cars ahead of the third and final day of preseason testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya last Friday, and they committed to doing the same for this week’s test at Bahrain International Circuit. So there was really no way forward for the team with the Russian fertilizer company.

Mazepin spent just one year competing in Formula 1 after Haas signed Uralkali as their title sponsor, and it was not a great season for the rookie to say the least.

Yes, the VF-21 was the weakest car on the grid, and by a considerably margin. But the Russian driver was consistently outperformed by rookie teammate Mick Schumacher in qualifying and in races, and he finished in 21st place in the driver standings despite the fact that only 20 drivers competed full-time. He had just one finish higher than 17th all year, and he spun 22 times in 21 races.

With his firing, arguably the coldest Formula 1 take of all-time re-emerged, and it came from none other than Rich Energy CEO William Storey.

Rich Energy, like Uralkali, is a former title sponsor of Haas. Like Uralkali, they cut ties with Haas prematurely after a controversial sequence of events. They signed with the American team for the 2019 season, but they didn’t even last the whole year.

However, despite having made some interesting claims about his brand’s relationship with Haas and why things ended the way they did, Storey was supportive of Haas when they signed Mazepin last year, dubbing him a “world class talent” and a “future world champion”.

Mazepin’s tenure in Formula 1 comes to a close with zero career points scored, and he came within six spots of scoring a single point on only one occasion.

His greatest accomplishment is probably his “fastest lap” in the Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. The fact that he owns the fastest lap in a two-lap procession behind the safety car in a rained-out race that took four hours to complete will forever remain fitting for the driver who rarely qualified higher than last on the grid.

A take such as this is one that only Storey could come up with, as he is known for making bizarre statements, statements which many believe are intended to stir up drama. The man who referred to Mazepin as a “future world champion” also claimed that reigning world champion Max Verstappen would never win a world championship and dubbed him a “pound shop Jean Alesi”.

He also continuously claims that Rich Energy is a “billion dollar brand” and will be returning to Formula 1, but nothing ever comes close to happening in that respect.

Mazepin’s replacement for the 2022 Formula 1 season is set to be former Haas driver Kevin Magnussen. The season is scheduled to begin on Sunday, March 20 with the Bahrain Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit.