Mazepin says he has learned from incident: "I've taken responsibility for it"

Nikita Mazepin has come under fire recently after a video emerged of him groping a woman. The Russian looks back on this incident ahead of his F1 debut and discusses what he has learned from it.

Mazepin's arrival at Haas was already a hotly debated issue. The Russian is seen as a pay-driver because of his father Dmitry's money, but his actions on and off the track do not improve that image. For example, he previously slapped Callum Ilott after free practice, but now a video has surfaced showing his 'girlfriend'.

''How I reflect on my actions is pretty clear, I'm not proud of it. I didn't behave as I'm meant to behave, being in Formula 1 and the transition phase of realising what I have achieved has been very short, and I didn't adapt to it as I should have had. I've taken responsibility for it, and I'm ready to keep doing so. I'm confident with the effort I'm putting in and the direction I'm taking, the results will be there, and I'm going to try and have the racing do the talking,'' Mazepin said in a Haas press event, according to Motorsport.com.

The Russian states that he has benefited greatly from the support of his new team in this process. ''They have been really supportive in helping me to learn from this incident. They've been very patient in taking the time and helping me learn from this matter further, and I think that in my education phase on the whole behaviour, I'm way further than I've ever been, so that is very helpful'', concludes the Haas driver.