It can be said Nikita Mazepin made the headlines for all the wrong reasons when he uploaded a video to his Instagram stories, showing him inappropriately touching a women’s chest. Nikita Mazepin posted what was seen as a hasty apology on social media for his actions, whilst the women concerned, Venezuelan model Andrea D’Lval, came to Mazepin’s defence on Instagram stories, stating that she and Mazepin had been friends for a while before going on to state that what happened was merely fun and games, her subsequent stories though hinting at her being unhappy with what happened. Both Haas and the FIA condemned what happened, with the former stating they will deal with the matter, though he kept his drive, whilst the F1 community are calling for him to be removed from the sport, with the #WeSayNoToMazepin quickly gaining traction.
Now there are conflicting opinions about what actually happened. Some are stating it was nothing more than drunk games, others are stating it was sexual assault. I am not going to launch into any opinions about what happened, as I simply believe we don’t know enough for a judgement to be formed. One thing that is clear though is that even if it was the minimum, that video should never have been on social media. It has understandably traumatised a lot of people, particularly women who have experienced sexual abuse in the past. And that is why it was very insensitive to put that up on his stories for everyone to see. So even if it is the minimum, he deserves to be punished in some way.
The main thing that is clear in my opinion is the FIA should be taking action on this. Not the Haas team. Even if the people coming to Mazepin’s defence are correct, the ramifications of the FIA sweeping this under the rug could be just as bad as if it was the worst.
The reasons are this. To state the obvious first, Haas will not take any action, as they have stated since. This no doubt put them in a very difficult situation, as if they had taken any disciplinary action against Mazepin then they risk losing the money that he is bringing in. Haas don’t run on a massive budget so this money is absolutely vital to them, and the team could even be depending on this money to survive. A lot of reports suggest they were lucky to survive 2020 due to the pandemic, and that without that money they will not survive 2021.
It is a very tricky situation as by punishing Nikita Mazepin, then they could be putting one of their teams in jeopardy. Losing Haas would be very bad for the sport. Formula One would be down to 18 cars, we would lose the opportunity to see a Schumacher on the grid in 2021, though he would likely find a seat elsewhere for 2022, and 200+ people could lose their jobs. But it would also be very bad for the sport to have a driver that many see as a sexual predator on the grid, and losing Haas and being down to 18 cars is a price many are willing to take. The fact that a team has a choice between have someone embroided in such a scandal as one of their drivers or go bust does raise a question to the state of finances in Formula One, and FOM should be supporting smaller teams more. But sometimes morals have to take priority. And it looks like no action has been taken, and that is just going to give Nikita Mazepin the impression that anything he does, his wealth will protect him.
This is literally the worst possible outcome which means it is less likely he will learn from this. He has a reputation for off track behaviour and if he keeps getting the impression that his money will protect him no matter what he does, he may keep reoffending, and this will look really bad for Haas and the sport as a whole. And even if he does learn from this despite not having any disciplinary action, then it will give future ‘pay drivers’ the impression that they can do what they like. Either way, who knows what that could lead to…
Which is why the FIA needs to act on this and they have not responded adequately. As many on social media are pointing out, they launched an investigation into Lewis Hamilton wearing a shirt with a message demaning justice for Breonna Taylor, yet they have left this to the Haas team, who were always going to be influenced by money. Even if they don’t strip Nikita Mazepin of his license, it could involve some form of a disciplinary record with a similar format to the penalty points system, where if a driver reaches a certain number of points on that record then action is taken. The FIA will not be influenced by money when making these decisions, and a driver behaving badly could look bad on them as well. When a driver makes Formula One, the world’s eyes are on them, and any bad behaviour will make the headlines all over the world, and will look bad for the sport. And if any disciplinary action against a driver negatively affects a team’s finances or any other aspect of their operation, the FIA should offer support to compensate for that in some ways.
To finish off, this cannot be the end of the whole situation. Part of the reason Haas have been criticised is not just for keeping Nikita Mazepin on the team, but also keeping the majority of their investigation internal. Even if Haas did find that it was simply drunk games as people coming to his defence are saying, the world needs assurance of that. Particularly women working in the paddock who might feel uncomfortable working there without that assurance. There is no way Haas can keep quiet about this. Imagine how it is going to feel for women who have been sexually assaulted in the past to see someone who could be responsible for the same thing getting the privilege of racing in Formula One. And by not taking this seriously, Formula One is seriously undermining their #WeRaceAsOne campaign that they spent the entire 2020 season pushing through.
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