F1 fans rejoice after Russian villain Nikita Mazepin crashes on first ever lap

Fans were in hysterics after the least liked driver on the grid began his career in the most embarrassing fashion at the Bahrain GP.

Russian driver Nikita Mazepin sits in his car after crashing out during the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP)

Nikita Mazepin continued the rocky start to his Formula One career after crashing out of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on turn three of the opening lap.

A controversial addition to the grid after he was filmed groping a woman’s breast in the back seat of a car, the Russian made no friends by committing the ultimate faux pas in qualifying in Bahrain when he broke a “gentleman’s code” and overtook other drivers on the outlap.

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The F1 karma gods appeared to take their revenge just moments after the Haas driver began his very first race in a crash that revived memories of a similar accident at the same corner last season.

Suddenly feeling a lot better about the 60 laps I managed in Sakhir before my spin.

— Jack Aitken - 한세용 (@JaitkenRacer) March 28, 2021

Frenchman Romain Grosjean, Mazepin’s predecessor at Haas, made a dramatic escape after his car burst into flames after going into the barriers, also on the opening lap.

Mazepin badly bent the front wheels on his car, but he escaped unhurt. The race was paused for a Safety Car intervention for two laps with the contest resuming on lap four.

The race distance had already been trimmed to 56 laps after Sergio Perez’s Red Bull car suffered a power failure on the formation lap, requiring him to recover and then start from the pit lane.

On the restart, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly lost his front wing after a clash with McLaren new boy Daniel Ricciardo while rookie Mick Schumacher spun off at Turn Four – a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed briefly.

Nikita Mazepin crashed on the opening lap in Bahrain.

On ya bike, mate: Nikita Mazepin is driven back to the pits in embarrassing fashion. (Photo by ANDREJ ISAKOVIC / AFP)

Lewis Hamilton and pole-sitter Max Verstappen emerged from the chaos to fight out a thrilling finish, with Hamilton claiming the win after Verstappen was forced to hand over the lead in the final laps.

Mazepin’s ultimate faux pas

A day earlier, commentators were baffled by Mazepin’s decision to overtake on the outlap in qualifying, which is usually seen as an unsportsmanlike way for drivers to gain an advantage over other racers.

Unfortunately for Mazepin, his devious move didn’t go according to plan, as he spun out for the second time on the track.

“Oh dear, oh no. Mazepin has broken the gentleman’s code of basically, ‘Wait your turn and everyone gets a lap’,” said BBC commentator Jolyon Palmer.

“He’s gone past all the champions into the final corner and then he’s got down to that final corner and spun, causing them to not be able to go fast.

“Way to make yourself public enemy number one on your debut!”

In a post-race interview, Mazepin claimed not to have been aware of the unspoken rule and blamed a braking issue for his spin.

“I had an issue with brake by wire. I locked up on the rears, I’m not sure why, at Turn 1,” Mazepin explained.

The abandoned car of Nikita Mazepin. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

“I was working on trying to sort the brake-by-wire issue, because it’s an electrical issue which can be sorted by steering wheel.

“My team told me there is not enough time to cross the start/finish line if I don’t go now. So I’m obviously the team’s driver, I’m doing as instructed and the instructions were to push – I pushed.

“And to be very honest, I’ve never heard about this agreement before, however, I will take notice from now on.”

Groping controversy

Mazepin was heavily criticised after a video in which he appeared to grope a woman’s breast surfaced online late last year.

He was reportedly disciplined by his Haas team and apologised for his actions in a press conference.

“I’m not proud of it, I didn’t behave as I meant to behave in Formula 1,” he said in March.

“I have made a huge mistake and taken responsibility for it and I have learned from it. I am looking forward to a clean year ahead.

— with AFP