“Guenther called him an idiot”- Gene Haas on Nikita Mazepin

“Guenther told him that he was an idiot”- Gene Haas reveals that team principal Guenther Steiner gave Mazepin a mouthful.

Nikita Mazepin may have saved his job as a Formula 1 driver, but he will not change his reputation among the fans for his reported groping incident.

The biggest stress over here was carried by Guenther Steiner, who was amidst scrutiny from media and fans for still employing Mazepin even after appearances of footages.

Taling about the incident, Haas owner Gene Haas has revealed that Steiner was so flabbergasted by Mazepin that he told him that he was an idiot.

“Our response to it was I think Guenther told him that he was an idiot and you can’t do things like that, and it was totally unacceptable.” Gene Haas said as per RACER.com.

However, the American team owner also claims that social media criticism was exaggerated, and Mazepin quickly apologized for his mistakes and promised to make amends, as argued by him.

“The social media response from all kind of groups was robust, wanting us to execute him for what he did, but that didn’t feel like the right course either.”

Guenther Steiner realizes Mazepin’s necessity.

Steiner has often admitted the financial necessity of Mazepin’s arrival, as his family-owned Uralkali is sponsoring Haas in return for a seat to Mazepin in 2021.

The American team has never been secretive about its financial strains and have threatened to go under administration because of the lack of results and funds in recent years.

On the other hand, all the favours from Ferrari have forced them to sign Mick Schumacher for this year. Therefore, that is why Haas had to axe both senior drivers, out of which at least one could have stayed for another season, instead had to present an all-rookie lineup for 2021.

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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