Formula 1 Austrian GP
Mazepin: Haas F1 car weight difference having "big impact"
Nikita Mazepin feels the weight difference between his and Haas Formula 1 teammate Mick Schumacher’s cars is having “quite a big impact” as he waits for a new chassis.
Luke Smith
Edited: Jul 3, 2021, 9:11 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Mazepin revealed at last weekend’s Styrian Grand Prix that his car was running at a heavier weight that Schumacher, making him feel like “a carrot that was about to be caught by a rabbit” against his teammate in the race.
Mazepin has beaten Schumacher just once in races both drivers have finished, and has outqualified him once out of eight races so far this year - in Monaco, when Schumacher took no part in qualifying.
Haas F1 team boss Gunther Steiner explained ahead of this weekend’s second race at the Red Bull Ring that there was a “small weight weight difference depending on the weight distribution”.
But he cleared up Mazepin’s belief that he would have to wait six or seven more races to change chassis and go back to a lighter one, revealing a new chassis is planned for after the summer break.
“Heavy is never good, but it's not like 20 kilos heavier or not 10 kilos heavier - it's nothing like this,” Steiner said. “We built a new chassis maybe a month ago, I would say. The plan is not to have it in six or seven races, the chassis is planned to be with us after the summer break.
“So it slows him down. But it's not a lot.”
Read Also:
- 'Mazespin' gift shows Mazepin not 'miserable young man'
- F1 set to sign off sprint qualifying rules amid parc ferme concerns
- Ferrari was 'most willing' to discuss Red Bull F1 engine deal
But Mazepin said that the perspective Steiner had on the pit wall was “probably very different to what you feeling driving the car for 71 laps”, feeling it did have a big impact on him was still drivable.
“Everyone is entitled to think [what they want] and they could be right, but I'm pretty certain that it does have quite a big impact,” Mazepin said. “Because it offsets the weight distribution, and then that offsets the set-up that you put in the car. So there are quite a few factors, if you go into it from a mechanical perspective.
“However, I would say in the grand scheme of things, it's not unacceptable. It's just making my life a bit more challenging. But I have a very good team of engineers who are helping me in my rookie year, to understand it and get to work with it better.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Mercedes explains why it won't ditch 'barn door' F1 rear wing
Next article FIA should focus on policing F1 incidents, not burnouts - Alonso
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Luke Smith
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
Formula 1
Formula 1
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Formula 1
Formula 1
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
Formula 1
Formula 1
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
Latest news
"Not allowed, not made possible": Was BMW denied its title chance?
DTM
DTM DTM
Hockenheim
48 min
"Not allowed, not made possible": Was BMW denied its title chance?
Max Verstappen: FAQ on his GTWC Europe debut
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 57 min
Max Verstappen: FAQ on his GTWC Europe debut
Pedro Acosta: "I'm going to Ducati to learn from Marc Marquez, not to beat him on same bike"
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Indonesian GP
1 h
Pedro Acosta: "I'm going to Ducati to learn from Marc Marquez, not to beat him on same bike"
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe