“I think it would have been very difficult if Nikita was still in the team,” Guenther Steiner deems results like P5 unrealistic with Nikita Mazepin in the team

“I think it would have been very difficult if Nikita was still in the team,” Guenther Steiner deems results like P5 unrealistic with Nikita Mazepin in the team

Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner with Nikita Mazepin

Haas had to terminate their contract with Nikita Mazepin earlier this month along with their primary sponsor Uralkali, a Russian potash and fertiliser company owned by Mazepin’s father Dmitry Mazepin following the Russia-Ukraine confluct that deepened recently. This was done by Haas to show their contempt for such an act of atrocity.

When it came to finding out a possible replacement for Mazepin, a lot of drivers were speculated to be his replacement featuring names like Antonio Giovinazzi, Oscar Piastri, Pietro Fittipaldi, Nico Hulkenberg. Haas ended up offering the empty seat to one of their former drivers Kevin Magnussen who departed from the American-based racing team at the end of the 2020 season.

In conjunction with a powerful VF-22 this season, Kevin Magnussen managed to qualify at P7 for the qualifying race at the Bahrain Grand Prix. He went on to gain two positions at the main race by finishing at P5 last weekend. This was Haas’ best result in almost 4 years. When asked if Haas would be third in the constructors’ standings after the first race if Mazepin was still racing, Haas’ Team Principal Guenther Steiner replied, “Who knows. For sure, bringing Kevin back showed what was possible. I think it would have been very difficult if Nikita and Mick [Schumacher] had been in the team.”

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No pandemonium at Haas despite astonishing finish at Bahrain GP: Guenther Steiner

With an 11th-place finish, Schumacher came pretty close to contributing to Haas’ total and securing his maiden points in Formula One. Inevitably, expectations have risen as a consequence of the outcome, but Steiner believes that such ardour is beyond his grasp.

“It’s about what we can do, and we will do our best,” added Steiner. “Whatever comes out of it, we’ll do. I’m not on the wave of expectation. That’s for other people, and I think before the first race they expected us to be last. Yeah, there’s a lot of interest because of the result. Nobody expected what we did, but there’s no madness. We didn’t win a race”, before quickly adding with a chuckle, “Yet,” remarked the Italian team principal.

 

The drivers will reassemble this weekend for the much awaited and star-studded Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit where Haas in particular will be looking forward to increase their positions on the grid following the fantastic results at Bahrain GP and hopefully have Mick Schumacher achieve his maiden points in Formula 1.

Also Read: “F****** viking comeback. F****** great,” Guenther Steiner reacts to Kevin Magnussen clinching P5 at Bahrain GP