F1 takes on Russian accent with Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin’s Haas (photos)
The new Haas was presented this Thursday morning. And with her white-blue-red dress, we can clearly see the Russian influence wanted by the (rich) dad of Nikita Mazepin, teammate of Mick Schumacher.
We know that from this year, the Formula 1 teams will be limited in their spending. Provided of course that the FIA manages to control this well… In the meantime, this commendable decision has the virtue of (trying to) tighten the gaps between the different teams. Less than 24 hours after the presentation of the Aston Martin, which smacked of the means available to its owner Lawrence Stroll, the Haas team on the other hand provided the minimum service to present its new single-seater aboard which young Mick Schumacher will embark ( 21 years old) and Nikita Mazepin (22 years old): a few photos via tweeter, and presto !, the deal was done.
A Russian flag on wheels
Even if the team still flies the American flag, we were however struck by the new dress of the single-seater called VF-21 with predominantly white-blue-red which is largely reminiscent of the Russian flag. This astonishment quickly dissipated when we know that behind these new colors hides (barely) Nikita Mazepin’s father, Dmitry Mazepin, a wealthy Russian businessman at the head of the Uralchem chemical group, whose division (specializing in potash) Uralkali appears on the sides of the car.
Some interpret this as the last step towards the purchase of the team by Dmitry Mazepin, who would finally afford the toy (but a little less beautiful all the same) that he covets for at least 3 years: a stable of F1. In 2018, we remember that he was opposed to Lawrence Stroll in the acquisition of the Force India team from which the Canadian left to build the Aston Martin team that he presented on Wednesday, with much more splendor. . But even if this conflict still occupies a few lawyers, we know that the Russian lost the game in this case of spoiled children.
Transition year
On the sporting side (anyway), there is not much to say: the VF-21 is of course the heir to the VF-20 entrusted to Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen last year, and which will have had for main “moment of glory” that offered by the French driver, when he went to lodge his single-seater under the rails of the Bahrain circuit, triggering a spectacular fire, and leading to a miracle that everyone still has in mind.
This year, it is therefore the young Mick Schumacher – the son of whom you know – and Nikita Mazepin – the son of whom you now also know – who will be at the controls of this car which we do not expect to leave the bottom. grid, Gunther Steiner, the technical director of the team, having already announced that 2021 would be considered as “a year of transition, because from the start of this season, our wind tunnel will be exclusively dedicated to the 2022 car.”
For now, the two drivers have not been invited to speak about this new car, and their highly anticipated debut – especially in the case of Schumi Jr of course – in Formula 1.
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