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Some might still be fuming over Michael Masi’s decision and how it affected Lewis Hamilton from becoming eight-time World Champion while Max Verstappen celebrated his first ever title. But there are also other aspects to look back on this season, such as our rookies: Mick Schumacher, Nikita Mazepin and Yuki Tsunoda, who raced for Haas and Alpha Tauri in Formula One.
In August 2020, these three drivers were sharing a podium in Spa as they were racing in Formula 2. Yuki Tsunoda had won the race for Carlin while Nikita Mazepin finished in second for Hitech Grand Prix and Mick Schumacher followed in third with Prema Racing.
The following season, they were to be racing against each other as Haas confirmed an all-rookie driver line-up made of Mazepin and Schumacher while Tsunoda joined Alpha Tauri.
Mazepin and Schumacher with Haas
This line-up was rather a controversial one from Haas. It is no secret that the American team is in deep financial crisis and they needed to find a way how to survive another season.
Sponsors are essential, and when team principal Guenther Steiner managed to pin a deal with 1&1, which is a German telecommunication provider, he had to make sure that a German driver will driving his car in 2021. Despite the pressure from Alfa Romeo, Mich Schumacher ended up signing for Haas. The 2020 Formula Two World Champion managed to reach Q2 once, in Turkey, throughout the season.
He managed to out qualify Nicholas Latifi in the Williams and start the race in 14th place. Unfortunately the Haas was not fast enough to keep up with the others, and finished the race in 19th place. Despite the poor-performance car, Schumacher did try display some racing although it did not go as planned for him. In Hungary, he tried to go one-on-one with Max Verstappen, who was trying to recover places after he lost some as he got tangled up in a collission between Valtteri Bottas and Lando Norris. Schumacher made it hard for the Dutch, as their wheels bumped twice as Verstappen tried to overtake the Haas in a much stronger Red Bull.
Eventually, he did overtake him. On the contrary, after the USA Grand Prix, Vertsappen admitted that Schumacher helped him to keep his first place and win the race. This was because as Verstappen was about to lap the German, he found it a bit hard as Schumacher was not getting out of the way that easily. Although it raised some anxiety for Red Bull, after the race Verstappen did admit that Schumacher helped him to find a DRS range, which enabled him to set a better lap as he was going into the first sector, in the last lap, with bad-conditioned tires.
Image Credit: Clive Rose
On the other hand, it can be argued that Nikita Mazepin hopes for a better season in 2022. Another sponsor-related decision, as Dmitry Mazepin, owner of Uralkali, a potash fertilizer producer and exporter, offered Haas a pool of money which Steiner could not resist. With it, he had to take on Nikita Mazepin.
His popularity is not something that the Russian is thrilled about, as many fans expect him to spin from one session to another. In fact, a website was made to track whenever Mazepin spins. In total, he had 22 and a half spins in a whole season, plus an extra one during the pre-season practice sessions.
Even his team boss, Guenther Steiner, joined the public’s fun and gifted him a spinning top at the Styrian GP. With a reputation for violence in other formulae, and inappropriate social behaviour, the nickname, “Mazespin”, was the last thing that needed to be added to his name.
In an interview with Formula 1’s media team, ahead of the Abu Dhabi GP, Mazepin said, “This year definitely has been very challenging, the car isn’t easy to drive, last year for the experienced drivers and then I jumped in as a rookie and it was tough.
“Some places were easier, some places were harder, but overall the after was that it was difficult. But as Niki Lauda said, “You always learn more from the difficult moments in life rather than when you’re winning. So, I think how difficult it was this year, I must have learnt a lot.”
Unfortunately, his season ended in Saudi Arabia, after he tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the race in Abu Dhabi.
Image Credit: Mark Thompson
Yuki Tsunoda at Alpha Tauri
It has not been a plain sailing season for the Japanese rookie either.
Yuki Tsunoda shows potential for becoming one of the greatest drivers on the pits, and with Pierre Gasly as his teammate, he can learn a lot about how to make his way there. Gasly had been promoted to Red Bull, then demoted and then is now proving himself to be a great driver in a car that when compared to Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren, is not really up there.
Tsunoda can be taken as an impulsive driver and someone who gets really excited on track, which are great characteristics to have, but when they get too much, they can cause certain mistakes. Normal ones, which rookies normally learn from during their first year in Formula One. During pre-season testing, we noticed that Tsunoda is yet to learn about several rules in the pit lane, such as when to actually go out, how to arrive, things that it’s normal for him to struggle with during the first year.
Out on track, he had a couple of spins and crashes, which he admitted was due to his aggressiveness. He has a great driving style, and gives it his all out there, but if he had to learn one thing from this year is that he should not be too aggressive, because that will only cause him silly mistakes that he could have avoided like in France, Hungary and Imola.
Despite this, the 21-year old finished the season in 14th place with 32 points, saving his best result for last, as he finished in fourth in the Abu Dhabi showdown.
Image Credit: Peter Fox
Head Image Credit: Bryn Lennon – Formula 1