Nikita Mazepin’s F1 debut couldn’t have gone much worse, with the Russian qualifying at the back of the grid and crashing out of the race after just navigating the first two corners.
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He crashed out of the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix after losing the rear of his difficult-to-drive Haas VF-21 for not the first time this weekend.
Earlier in the week, Haas team principal Guenther Steiner said the target for the team’s two rookie drivers is to “bring the car home” and to avoid trouble in their debut grand prix.
“Bring the cars home, trying to get as much driving as possible the whole weekend including the race, as this is what they need to do this year, just to learn the trade so to be ready for next year when we hopefully have got a better car,” Steiner said.
“My expectation is they bring them home and that is already a success for me. We have two rookies and that will be a tough thing to do anyway,” he added.
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Mazepin’s crash on Sunday prompted plenty of reaction on social media, with many taking up the opportunity to mock the controversial Russian racing driver.
Top Gear presenter Chris Harris asked his circa 300,000 followers on Twitter if they believe Mazepin deserves a Super Licence and received dozens of replies.
However, some noted that Mick Schumacher also had a spin in the race and said Haas’ 2021 car looks very difficult to drive.
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