Nikita Mazepin was forced to make a high-speed maneuver during the final stages of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after finishing on Lewis Hamilton, who was on a slow lap, at Turn 8, blind left. The commissioners investigated the incident and gave Hamilton a reprimand, as well as fining the Mercedes € 25,000. It transpired that Mercedes had not warned Hamilton that Mazepin was closing after giving a 10-second warning.
At the end of qualifying in Jeddah, Hamilton explained that he had no idea where Mazepin was, and that the blind corners made it difficult to manage the traffic around the track: “Yesterday in the drivers briefing I said that I think there was potential for this, so we should probably keep a minimum speed everywhere, as they did for turns 22 to 27, but they only did it for those. I apologized to Nikita ”.
Mazepin did not dwell on the incident, saying it was not a big deal on his part, and revealed that Hamilton had texted him to apologize. “He felt very sorry for what happened, and he said it wasn’t the best job done on their side,” Mazepin said. “It’s really cool to see the experienced and older generation pay attention to these things. In F2 you may never have a driver thinking about it, where in F1, the seven-time world champion is. So that’s really nice of him. “.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Any sanction beyond a crackdown could have impacted Hamilton’s title battle with Red Bull rival Max Verstappen, who tops the table with an eight-point lead when two races are missing from the end of the season. Mazepin also downplayed the need for a higher penalty, saying he didn’t want the crash to impact Hamilton’s title chances.
“I really like Lewis, and I really wish him all the best in his title fight,” Mazepin said. “I wouldn’t want him to be penalized for something that was with me. I’m in my first year in Formula 1. He was probably focusing on his steering wheel adjusters and thinking about how to find some lap time for qualifying. If the cost for me was not completing one of my laps in FP3, that’s okay. “
Additional information by Alex Kalinauckas
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