Nikita Mazepin

Nikita Mazepin,23, is an ex-formula one driver and son of Russian Oligarch,Dimitri Mazepin.He was born on 2/3/1999 in Moscow,Russia.He previously competed for HITECH GP in F2 and Haas F1 team in 2021

## Career

### Karting

Mazepin started his karting career in 2011 and quickly moved up the ranks, driving in the CIK-FIA Karting European Championship in the KF3 class in just his second year of competition. In 2013 he finished fourth in the KFJ-category of the WSK Super Master Series, and in 2014, his final year of karting, the Russian became vice-champion in the Karting World Championship to Lando Norris.

### Formula 3 European Championship

In 2016, Mazepin competed in the 2016 FIA Formula 3 European Championship for Hitech Grand Prix. He scored four points-scoring finishes and finished 20th in the championship. After being blocked during a session by Callum Ilott, Mazepin got into an altercation with the other driver, during which Mazepin hit Ilott in the face, resulting in a ban from the first race of the Hungaroring meeting. The sanction itself was controversial, with Frits van Amersfoort, boss of Ilott's team, believing the decision to be too lenient, calling it "a ridiculous decision by the stewards".

Nonetheless, Mazepin was retained for another season. He improved significantly compared to his first year, scoring 108 points and finishing on the podium on three occasions. He finished one place behind teammate Ralf Aron, who was ninth, and five behind fifth-placed Jake Hughes.
Mazepin testing the Force India VJM11 in Barcelona, 2018

### GP3 Series

In 2018 Mazepin moved to GP3, to race for ART Grand Prix alongside Callum Ilott, Jake Hughes and eventual champion Anthoine Hubert. He won four races, the most of any driver that year, and finished second in the championship, only 16 points behind Hubert. Furthermore, he helped his team secure the title in the team championship.

### FIA Formula 2 Championship

In 2019, Mazepin progressed to Formula 2 to partner Nyck de Vries at ART Grand Prix. His season was marked by causing an accident with Nobuharu Matsushita in the sprint race at the Sochi Autodrom. While his teammate ended up winning the championship, Mazepin's end result was 18th place with 11 points.

In 2020, he signed for the new Hitech Grand Prix Team to drive alongside Italian Luca Ghiotto. His first podium came at the Hungaroring with second place, before taking his first F2 victory in Britain. Mazepin also won the feature race at Mugello. On the final lap of the Belgian feature race, he pushed Carlin Motorsport driver Yuki Tsunoda wide, and was given a five second time penalty, denying him victory.

### Haas (2021–2021)

Mazepin joined Haas F1 Team for 2021 on a multi-year deal, partnering Mick Schumacher. He chose the number 9 as his permanent racing number. Mazepin competed under a neutral flag representing the Russian automobile Federation in the 2021 Formula One World Championships after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a World Anti-Doping Agency ban on Russia competing at World Championships in December 2020 due to state sponsored doping of Russian athletes.

He scored a total of 20 WDC points which featured a Podium. He was released from the team following a controversy on racial abuse.

### Formula E

By the end of 2021, Nikita mazepin was left without a drive following his replacement by Josef Newgarden after the 2021 United States Grand Prix. He seeked his fathers assistance in securing a drive in Formula E, with URALKALI-NIO333 Racing. He placed 4th in the season opener and DNFed in the second race,before he met with a career ending accident

### Personal life

He is the son of Dmitry Mazepin, who is the core shareholder and chairman of the Uralchem Integrated Chemicals Company.

On 9 December 2020, Mazepin posted an Instagram story in which he appeared to inappropriately grope a woman's breasts. In a statement, the Haas F1 Team rebuked Mazepin's actions and called the video "abhorrent". Mazepin also released an apology, stating "I have to hold myself to a higher standard as a Formula 1 driver and I acknowledge I have let myself and many people down", but the apology was deleted nine days later. In March 2021, Mazepin reiterated that he understood his actions were wrong. The woman in the video defended Mazepin and labelled his actions as a joke between the two. The woman has since posted content on her own social media stating "never let them touch you again or be disrespectful to you" and the two have since unfollowed each other. The controversy led to the hashtag "#WeSayNoToMazepin" to go trending, calling for Mazepin's removal from the Haas F1 Team.Following his removal he moved to a permanent residence in Guangdong,China, where he worked with NIO333. On the early hours of Saturday 18/4, he met with a crash whilst visiting his father in Bhrenziki under the influence of alcohol. Following that disaster, he had fractured many parts of his body, disabling him from racing.