Nikita Mazepin has recently shared a desire to return to Europe and return to racing on the continent. However, this time it is not Formula 1, but the World Endurance Championship. The Russian driver wants to compete in 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2024, as per SoyMotor.
Mazepin has already made his return to racing this year. Therefore, he is optimistic about seeing his luck work for him to secure the World Endurance Championship. However, the 24-year-old driver is yet to determine if he will go for the HyperCar category or try to get into the limited 15 LMP2 cars available for Le Mans.
The former Haas driver raced in the Asian Le Mans Series in February 2023, almost a year after his F1 ouster. In the Asian Le Mans Series, he had quite a successful outing, getting some podiums. This laid the foundation for him to make a wish and return to racing in Europe.
The 24-year-old saw his F1 days end after Russia’s conflict with Ukraine began in early 2022. From there on, his racing outing was limited. Apart from this, he also faced issues regarding the uncertainties about his racing categories and logistical issues like visa processing.
Troubles Nikita Mazepin faced after Russia-Ukraine fallout
Nikita Mazepin became the driver with immediate sanction after the fallout between the two countries. He was also banned from racing in Europe and some parts of the world. This has come after the driver’s father Dmitry Mazepin’s close ties with Russia came out in public.
However, Mazepin is determined to continue his racing career and for this, he arrived in Milan on a national visa for racing opportunities. Unfortunately, the authorities denied entry for the Russian to the United Kingdom after losing a court case.
Winning the case would have given the 24-year-old chances to talk with the F1 teams regarding his future endeavors in the sport. Since his entry is closed in most of the continent, he calls himself the “canceled athlete.”
Mazepin also reveals the hardships he faces in this kind of situation on his social media [Instagram] on a daily basis.
Notably, Nikita Mazepin also made sure that he was ready to work on behalf of all canceled athletes and lead them. With this, he is also determined to keep himself in shape and try reigniting his racing career.
