Russian journalist Alexei Popov slammed fans for criticising Nikita Mazepin, saying that he gets unfair stick because his father is rich.
Mazepin debuted in F1 to much criticism. His on-track and off-track exploits were far from ideal and earned him a soiled reputation. From crashes to groping a woman, his life is a case study on how not to act.
However, all of that was made twice as worse by one thing, and that is his status as a paid driver. Fans know the only reason he is in F1 is because his father Dmitry Mazepin funds the Haas team. With his millions, he managed to land his son a seat in the sport.
As a result, the perception of the rookie is a shambolic one. However, Russian journalist Popov slammed fans for criticising Mazepin, saying that their hypocrisy was in not giving the same treatment to some other drivers.
As reported by Championat.com, Popov said, “It’s about perception.
“So Nikita fell victim to the fact that he has a rich father, although in modern Formula 1, the same bunny boy, Lando Norris, has a dad with a fortune of £1 billion.
“However, for some reason, it is not customary to talk about this. But nonetheless!”
Not a good comparison
Although Popov is right in saying the two drivers have rich fathers, the difference between Norris and Mazepin is basically night and day. Norris actually has a stellar racing background, having finished P2 in an intense F2 season back in 2018.
Mazepin, meanwhile, was not half as successful as the McLaren driver. His best finish in F2 was P5. Coincidentally, his current teammate Mick Schumacher was the champion that season.
Read more: Mazepin criticises fellow F1 drivers for how they behave with each other – “No more gentlemen”