F1 | Haas, Mazepin clarifies the episode with Schumacher: "It was a misunderstanding"

Among the episodes that characterized the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, held on Sunday on the Sochi track, there was also one which saw the two Haas drivers as protagonists. One of the two directly involved, Nikita Mazepin, wanted to clarify the issue, with the Russian admitting that his intentions were not to push teammate Mick Schumacher into the wall in the final stages of the race. Mazepin truthfully stated that it was a simple misunderstanding.

"In Formula everyone is a top class driver, so no one is trying to scare anyone else – said Mazepin, quoted by sports.ru – In Baku it was just a misunderstanding based on my experience and my expectations of what Mick was doing. Usually drivers use the inside line when overtaking because it is the best for braking. I started the blocking maneuver late, but everyone does it".

Mazepin, completing his analysis, then added: “I had no idea Mick wanted to stay on the outside. When I saw it in the mirrors, I immediately returned to the original trajectory because if I had continued, we probably would have touched each other. But this moment was just a misunderstanding. I thought Mick would go left, like every overtaking move in the race. But he went right. The timing probably also played a role: it was the last lap and I didn't expect it. But I definitely wasn't trying to scare anyone".