Nikita Mazepin says that staff turnovers and other internal problems at Haas are taking a toll on his emotions and performances on the track.
Nikita Mazepin was the subject of much discussion after Friday’s qualifying session in Sao Paolo. The Russian driver was not pleased with his performance in the session and responded tear-jerked when asked about the same in an interview.
He later revealed that his result that afternoon was not the only reason for him being in tears. There are a lot of internal problems within the Haas team at the moment, according to him. Those issues have been affecting him mentally, and he’s finding it tough to adapt to his team’s ‘changes’.
“As you know, the team is shuffling around,” he explained. “People were coming and going in the last two races. I know that not everybody that is around me this year are planning to stay for next year. My team of engineering members hasn’t been the same and been changing ever since Turkey.”
Dominic Haines is Mazepin’s race engineer. He was on paternity leave for quite some time and returned to the paddock only recently. During his absence, Ayao Komatsu filled in that role.
It was recently announced that Haines would leave Haas after this season.
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The 2022 calendar has left many people at Haas considering their futures, says team boss
Haas team principal Guenther Steiner added that the introduction of a 23 race calendar has led to many people planning their exit from F1.
“Every year you have got a little bit of change,” said Steiner. “On his car in particular this year this year a few people just don’t want to do the 23-race schedule next year. “Mazepin’s race engineer (Haines) started a family, and he’s leaving because he wants to do something else. He’s staying in racing but not in Formula 1. He’s doing something different.
Steiner also thinks that they’re last and not competing for points has added to the low morale. The American team has had a woeful 2021. Their car is miles behind Alfa Romeo in terms of performance, and neither driver have scored a single point this season.
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“A few people move around, and obviously when you are at the back of the grid. It’s always more because the motivation is just not as high as when you’re winning.
“When you are winning and when you are having big results, you keep yourself going by having more results. So this is quite normal.”
