Haas chose Russia’s Nikita Mazepin

Haas chose Russia’s Nikita Mazepin

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Jonny_

4,108 posts

206 months

Friday 14th May 2021
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TheDeuce said:
vaud said:
I don’t think he is a terrible driver, I think he is over driving an unpredictable car.

He’s no Lewis but nor is he Taki Inoue.
But he's binned it more often than his (also rookie) team mate whilst going more slowly confused

Can we blame the thoughtless driving on the unpredictable car too..?
I don't think he's actually overdriving it any more. Certainly he was in the first couple of races, hence the many spins, but I get the impression that his aim in more recent races has simply been to finish the race. And that he's concentrating so hard on this that the blue flags, approaching faster cars etc don't register. Lack of racecraft, or bad attitude, combination of both perhaps?

I do wonder if the team are demanding that MAZ focuses on simply getting to the end in one piece, so as to not waste any more money on replacement parts for what they openly admit is an uncompetitive car.

Of course, he's still getting mugged off by Schumi Jr. at every race, who generally finishes close to a minute ahead of him, in the same dismal car, having made far fewer errors...

TheDeuce

21,261 posts

65 months

Friday 14th May 2021
quotequote all
vaud said:
TheDeuce said:
But he's binned it more often than his (also rookie) team mate whilst going more slowly confused

Can we blame the thoughtless driving on the unpredictable car too..?
I'm willing to give rookies a half season at least.
Fair enough, and I awkwardly agree it is 'possible' he'll come good... I just really struggle to see it with this guy.

This stuff needs to stop right away though: https://youtu.be/QIVf61s4DR4 (ignore unsafe release, not his fault..)

Because he can't be putting other drivers at risk routinely whilst we patiently wait half a season to see if he's genuinely useless or not.

TheDeuce

21,261 posts

65 months

Friday 14th May 2021
quotequote all
Jonny_ said:
TheDeuce said:
vaud said:
I don’t think he is a terrible driver, I think he is over driving an unpredictable car.

He’s no Lewis but nor is he Taki Inoue.
But he's binned it more often than his (also rookie) team mate whilst going more slowly confused

Can we blame the thoughtless driving on the unpredictable car too..?
I don't think he's actually overdriving it any more. Certainly he was in the first couple of races, hence the many spins, but I get the impression that his aim in more recent races has simply been to finish the race. And that he's concentrating so hard on this that the blue flags, approaching faster cars etc don't register. Lack of racecraft, or bad attitude, combination of both perhaps?

I do wonder if the team are demanding that MAZ focuses on simply getting to the end in one piece, so as to not waste any more money on replacement parts for what they openly admit is an uncompetitive car.

Of course, he's still getting mugged off by Schumi Jr. at every race, who generally finishes close to a minute ahead of him, in the same dismal car, having made far fewer errors...
I said similar a few pages back - there seems to be a conscious choice between being careful and slow... Or vaguely competitive (closer to team mate) buy not really fully in control of his car.

With respect to Vaud's point about giving him a chance, it is possible that by avoiding further crashes or incidents he'll be able to reduce the pressure on himself and perhaps he can then build up his pace incrementally without binning it so often.

JonChalk

6,469 posts

109 months

Thursday 20th May 2021
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Esteban Ocon has clarified some comments he made on a French podcast last week;


entropy

5,403 posts

202 months

Tuesday 25th May 2021
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Is it normal for rookie drivers to not being able to complete this task around Monaco?




vaud

50,282 posts

154 months

Tuesday 25th May 2021
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entropy said:
Is it normal for rookie drivers to not being able to complete this task around Monaco?
It's not normal. Some drivers have enough mental bandwidth to catch a sight of the tv coverage as they pass.

TheDeuce

21,261 posts

65 months

Tuesday 25th May 2021
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vaud said:
entropy said:
Is it normal for rookie drivers to not being able to complete this task around Monaco?
It's not normal. Some drivers have enough mental bandwidth to catch a sight of the tv coverage as they pass.
It's amazing. This kid has managed to stop crashing by driving slowly (if that's better..) yet still can't can't operate his car properly and keeps telling his engineer to get to fk each outing confused

Poor engineer must hate him.

SpudLink

5,669 posts

191 months

Tuesday 25th May 2021
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Shock as Oligarch’s son is revealed to be ill-mannered lout.

He really does seem to be operating at the limit of his talent to keep the car on the road.

kiseca

9,339 posts

218 months

Tuesday 25th May 2021
quotequote all
TheDeuce said:
vaud said:
entropy said:
Is it normal for rookie drivers to not being able to complete this task around Monaco?
It's not normal. Some drivers have enough mental bandwidth to catch a sight of the tv coverage as they pass.
It's amazing. This kid has managed to stop crashing by driving slowly (if that's better..) yet still can't can't operate his car properly and keeps telling his engineer to get to fk each outing confused

Poor engineer must hate him.
Damon Hill claimed that he could recognise individuals in the crowd. A photographer didn't believe him. He ended up with a picture of Damon waving at him (while blatting around in the F1 car, obviously)

Munter

31,319 posts

240 months

Tuesday 25th May 2021
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Shirly they can just stick the thing in a safe mode and send him out to trundle around. He can flip all the switches they like, he'll still be last (unless his teammate has something go wrong again).

I'd think their race weekend would essentially be. Find the settings for least engine and gearbox wear, stick it in that, put numbnuts in the car, wait for the crash/return of the car. Return to base.

vaud

50,282 posts

154 months

Tuesday 25th May 2021
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Would be cheaper for his dad to give him one of these and $5m/year to spend



I was hoping he would be better as he had some good races in F2.

TheDeuce

21,261 posts

65 months

Tuesday 25th May 2021
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I too was optimistic. I didn't really care about his immature and disappointing social media nonsense, I was just keen to see two rookies battle it out in the same car - because let's be honest, the car in question Vs any other car is a bit of a foregone conclusion.

However, it wasn't to be. He was an average to decent F2 driver but you never really know how far a talent will go until it's tested - his seems to fall short of F1. That's not even a criticism, it's just the way of the world.

I wonder what his dad will do if he remains a no hoper in F1? He can obviously afford to continue to pay for the seat but that's not to say he'll want to.

n3il123

2,601 posts

212 months

Tuesday 25th May 2021
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He always sounds so stressed out, compare that to the other drivers who seem to find time to have a bit of a chat in their non busy times.

I mean he doesn't even have the capacity to change a setting on the steering wheel!

HustleRussell

24,602 posts

159 months

Tuesday 25th May 2021
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Odd to see all of this criticism now after the first weekend he has basically done better than Mick.

ajprice

27,311 posts

195 months

Tuesday 25th May 2021
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What happened in the race for him to finish ahead of Mick Schumacher after that first lap overtake Mick did at the hairpin?

TheDeuce

21,261 posts

65 months

Tuesday 25th May 2021
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HustleRussell said:
Odd to see all of this criticism now after the first weekend he has basically done better than Mick.
It's less criticism than he had before smile

Besides, do you really rate his Monaco drive as good? Regardless of Mick having a bad weekend. Mazepin was himself way off the pace and the only car issue he had appears to be that he doesn't know how to operate it.

Munter

31,319 posts

240 months

Tuesday 25th May 2021
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ajprice said:
What happened in the race for him to finish ahead of Mick Schumacher after that first lap overtake Mick did at the hairpin?
I saw elsewhere (but not confirmed) that Mick had a fuel pickup issue so they let Mazepin past rather than hold him up.

HustleRussell

24,602 posts

159 months

Tuesday 25th May 2021
quotequote all
TheDeuce said:
HustleRussell said:
Odd to see all of this criticism now after the first weekend he has basically done better than Mick.
It's less criticism than he had before smile

Besides, do you really rate his Monaco drive as good? Regardless of Mick having a bad weekend. Mazepin was himself way off the pace and the only car issue he had appears to be that he doesn't know how to operate it.
He basically did better than Mick. ‘Good’ is your word not mine.

TheDeuce

21,261 posts

65 months

Tuesday 25th May 2021
quotequote all
Munter said:
ajprice said:
What happened in the race for him to finish ahead of Mick Schumacher after that first lap overtake Mick did at the hairpin?
I saw elsewhere (but not confirmed) that Mick had a fuel pickup issue so they let Mazepin past rather than hold him up.
Some sort of PU issue.

For me Mick impressed a little simply by getting an overtake done around Monaco in the first instance. That he later had to allow mazepin back past and then nurse his car home is unfortunate, but doesn't on merit change my mind about mazepin's talent in an F1 car.

Is there any reason whatsoever to imagine that without the PU issue Mick wouldn't have stayed ahead as per normal..?

TheDeuce

21,261 posts

65 months

Tuesday 25th May 2021
quotequote all
HustleRussell said:
TheDeuce said:
HustleRussell said:
Odd to see all of this criticism now after the first weekend he has basically done better than Mick.
It's less criticism than he had before smile

Besides, do you really rate his Monaco drive as good? Regardless of Mick having a bad weekend. Mazepin was himself way off the pace and the only car issue he had appears to be that he doesn't know how to operate it.
He basically did better than Mick. ‘Good’ is your word not mine.
Mick's car did worse than mazepin's imo. In terms of driving on display, plainly Mick was doing the better job as he managed to pass his team mate.

The record will show mazepin was 'better' if you like. Kinda meaningless in the context of his genuine performance as a driver though.