Mazepin: 'You can get maybe three to four times more data in F1'

Nikita Mazepin didn't start his 2021 season too strong. The step from Formula 2 to Formula 1 is a big one, he says. On top of that, he had to drive the Haas through the rain in Imola in already his second F1 race.

Mazepin admits it was quite a challenge to race in wet conditions early in the season. "I’m just one of 20 drivers on the grid, and one of the three rookies, who had to deal with the same conditions – I think everyone was kind of equal there," he says on the his team's website.

The young Russian says the step from Formula 2 to Formula 1 is huge. Especially collecting data and analysing it is quite a difference from F2. "It’s very big. I would say the amount of data that you’re able to collect in Formula 1, it’s probably triple or quadruple that of what you can get in Formula 2," Mazepin continued.

"So, it’s a part of your growth, in racing terms, to be able to understand this information and be in control of it," he concludes. Mazepin is looking forward to his first Grand Prix at Portimao. He hasn't been there for over seven years. Portimao was, however, the circuit where he tested an F1 car for one of the first times.