Russian auto racer Nikita Mazepin rules out his return to Formula One racing

MOSCOW, October 16. /TASS/. /TASS/. Russian auto racer Nikita Mazepin ruled out on Wednesday his return to the world’s most prestigious auto racing series, Formula One, according to a statement on his Instagram account (outlawed in Russia as belonging to the Meta corporation, which has been recognized as extremist).
“Working my way up through karting, then F3 [Formula 3] and F2 [Formula 2]. The chase for a seat in Formula 1,” Mazepin said. “And, in part, that dream was fulfilled and I had the taste of that world, and loved it. For real. That season was hard, and I had to take some public knocks. But I was living on the promise of the next season, with a new car, and a little experience under my belt.”
“As we all know, that season didn’t happen,” he continued. “The reasons – we also all know. And that was the abrupt end to my Act 1. It has been painful to watch everyone at F1 moving forward and to not be a part of it.”
“Which leaves me now, at the ripe old age of 25, realizing it is time to look forward, not back,” Mazepin said. “So, while you will not be seeing a return to Formula 1 for me, I will be happy to share news with you on my next steps.”
On February 5, 2022, FIA Formula One Team Haas announced that it had terminated its contract with Russian racer Mazepin. The US-based team cited the conflict in Ukraine as the reason.
Mazepin, born on March 2, 1999 in Moscow, was Russia’s fourth racer in the world’s most prestigious auto racing series, FIA Formula 1. He signed a multi-year contract with the Haas F1 Team in December 2020.
The first Russian racer in Formula One was Vitaly Petrov, who made his debut in 2010 and retired after the 2012 season.
Another Russian driver, Daniil Kvyat, raced for F1 Teams Red Bull and Toro Rosso at different times between 2014 and 2017. Kvyat missed the 2018 season and was back again racing for Team Toro Rosso in 2019, 2020.
Sergey Sirotkin raced for Team Williams during the 2018 FIA F1 World Championship and he was the third Russian to enter the world of Formula One.