Mazepin: 'I didn't post that video and didn't touch that woman'

Nikita Mazepin's debut season in Formula 1 has not been an uneventful one. The Russian rookie already caused controversy when he had not yet driven a race after a video came online in which he would have touched a woman indecently. His actions on the track have also drawn a lot of criticism.

While Mazepin previously apologized for the video and called his own behavior inappropriate, he denies having anything to do with the video in the new episode of the Beyond the Grid podcast. "First of all, I want to say that I didn't post that video and it wasn't my hands that touched the woman like that," the Haas driver says in the interview.

Mazepin's comments are curious, to say the least after he previously said he had learned from the incident. The fuss after the video was released was very big, Mazepin realises. "I had expected the violent reactions. The video came eight days after my appointment at Haas. It was a dark day. When I think back, I see it as an opportunity to continue learning, as an opportunity to become a better person."

The Russian also now sees that there was a certain responsibility involved in becoming a Formula One driver. "I hadn't quite realised this, because I still saw myself as before, very ordinary," he said. It was only after the incident that he realised he would be the centre of attention as a Formula One driver. "Then I realised what responsibility comes with it. It was really a wake-up call."