A lot of change is heading the way of Alpine, with Bruno Famin stepping away from the role of team principal following the Belgian Grand Prix. In his place, Olive Oakes, the founder and head of Hitech, will be taking charge of the French team. With Oakes in charge, there are strong chances that former Haas driver Nikita Mazepin might be making his F1 comeback soon, ringing the alarm bells for Esteban Ocon.
Poised to become a customer team before the 2026 regulations kick in, Alpine (owned by Renault) might well be on course to be sold. As such, with Oakes in command of the F1 team, Hitech (as reported by PlanetF1) might be taking over the team. Notably, Mazepin’s father, Dimitry, has long been an investor in Hitech and is on good terms with Oakes.
An F1 return for Nikita Mazepin could be on the cards if Alpine merge with Hitech.
New Alpine boss and Hitech founder Oliver Oakes is known to have close connections to the Mazepin family.#F1 #Alpine #NikitaMazepin #Hitech pic.twitter.com/ndM1Pma5ZL
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) August 3, 2024
Furthermore, Mazepin himself was a Hitech driver in Formula 3 and Formula 2 before joining F1 as a Haas driver. However, the promotion did not go swimmingly, as the Russian driver failed to score any points in his debut season. In the next year, Haas let go of the young driver owing to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the bans that followed.
Hitech had previously made a bid to become a part of the F1 grid but failed to see fruition. Backed by Kazakh billionaire Vladimir Kim, the team had more than enough funds to sustain in the premiere motorsports event. And should they be able to complete the takeover, the funds would certainly come in handy. But the road ahead remains tricky for Mazepin.
Strong ties with Oakes don’t guarantee Nikita Mazepin an F1 return
Given all the sanctions imposed on Russia, Mazepin certainly won’t be able to drive in F1 under the country’s flag. He would either have to drive for a neutral flag or the flag of the Russian Automobile Federation (RAF).
BREAKING: Haas has terminated its contract with Nikita Mazepin and title sponsor Uralkali. pic.twitter.com/yXIthsWpTj
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) March 5, 2022
The 25-year-old hasn’t strayed away from racing since his termination and was last seen in the Asian Le Mans series. Driving for 99 Racing, the Moscow native has had seven starts in the series, winning two races. He has been on the podium an additional three times, alongside one fastest lap accolade.
But the impressive stats still aren’t enough to carry him to F1, given his license situation. Mazepin is currently in possession of an FIA Platinum license, and an FIA super license is a necessity to be able to compete in F1.
