Nikita Mazepin, son of Russian billionaire Dmitry Mazepin, has said he is “unbothered” by the fact that he is “maybe treated a little differently” due to things unrelated to racing.
Mazepin didn’t specify what exactly he was referring to, but he insisted that he isn’t fazed about being treated differently by the F1 community.
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“There are certain reasons unrelated to the racing world for which I am maybe treated a little differently. I am used to it and absolutely unbothered by it,” Nikita Mazepin said in a recent interview with MatchTV.ru.
In the same interview, the Russian racing driver, who will race with Haas in his debut season in Formula One, commented on his difficult season in Formula Two in 2019, which saw him finish P18 in the Drivers’ Championship.
“After my absolute and complete failure in 2019, we decided to regroup. I slimmed down my entourage, also changed from having two coaches.
“Now I have one, a physiotherapist/coach, an Italian, who is responsible for my physical training. I’ve been working with him for the past three years, he also works with the Ferrari guys,” he added.
Continuing, he described Mick Schumacher, who he will partner at Haas in 2021, as an old rival and said his surname doesn’t “matter” to him.
“To be honest, his name does not matter to me. We are not friends, but I can call us old rivals. We did karting together.
“The surname, of course, adds both strength and problems in terms of pressure and attention but when you close the visor of your helmet, there is no time to think about it,” Mazepin added.
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