“What he did was not acceptable”- F1 boss on Nikita Mazepin controversy; will meet drivers

“What he did was not acceptable”- F1 boss has stepped into not appropriate Nikita Mazepin’s controversial actions found in a viral video.

Nikita Mazepin found himself in a difficult position when he uploaded a video of him allegedly groping an acquaintance of him. The video caused massive outrage and almost cost him his seat at Haas.

Some would argue that his privilege and the financial needs of Haas saved the Russian race driver, but team principal Guenther Steiner has pledged not to tolerate it ever again.

Speaking of it, Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali has stepped in to condemn the actions made by Mazepin but also pointed out that he realizes his mistake.

“I would say that it was pretty clear what he did was not acceptable,” he told Associated Press. “But I think that he was apologetic as a reaction to what he did and we need to make sure that in the discussions that we will have… that they understand we cannot joke about certain things – it’s not possible.”

“They are too important not to understand they are role models… that is something that we are going to discuss together, not only with him, at the appropriate time.”

I will meet the drivers.

Domenicali has also spoken about the idea of meeting the drivers in Bahrain to discuss the issue, not confirmed whether it will be during pre-season testing or the inaugural Grand Prix of 2021.

“We cannot lose the opportunity to make sure they understand they are more than drivers; they have a big responsibility because they are the face of our sport.”

“They have to understand that their behaviour and their words and a lead-by-example approach is what I am expecting to share with them.”

“I want to share how I believe we should work together also in using our platform and their role model to push for issues that are important for our society.”

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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