“It was my fault”– Nikita Mazepin apologizes to Mick Schumacher over the incident in Monza where the Russian made the latter spin.
The Haas camp over the last two weeks have seen severe hostility between the two drivers, but it seems like there is an initiative of coming together after Mazepin admits his fault.
Mazepin and Schumacher were vying at the end of the grid during the Italian Grand Prix when the former tried to overtake the German at turn 4 but instead spun him around.
Drama at Haas again. Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher make contact, with Schumacher spinning.
The in-team rivalry keeps getting hotter at Haas. Mazepin and Schumacher surely won’t be going to a concert together anytime soon.#F1 #ItalianGP
— Kobe Lambeth (@KobeLambeth) September 12, 2021
“He braked very early going into Turn 4 and I just put my nose there, and obviously he needed to make the corner and turn in, so I’m sorry it happened,” said Mazepin.
“It was my fault, but like a racing incident. Sometimes you put your nose there and the driver in front has to turn in, but you’ve got half a car there.”
“[It was] fully my mistake, but I think it was obvious that I wasn’t happy… that it happened. I was very sorry due to the front wing that was missing due to that.”
No resentments
Even Schumacher didn’t sound as angry after the race in Monza while discussing his incident with Mazepin as compared to he was in Zandvoort and claimed it was a good race nevertheless.
“I think in my case, it’s really tight, we’re fighting, and obviously [with] low downforce,” Schumacher added. “I have to see, but for me, I felt this race was good, and I don’t think it would really have changed anything to our end race position.”
It only remains to be seen how Haas manages this conflict between the two drivers, which has subsided in the ending days of this triple-header.
