The balance of power at Haas has been one-sided this year, though probably no more so than anyone expected.
Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin knew from the outset they faced a tough year in a lightly reworked version of last year’s uncompetitive Haas, which has duly proved the slowest car on the track at every race. As a result they have usually only had each other to beat.
At times the intensity of the fight between the pair has been a match for any other contest in the field. But one driver has consistently emerged ahead – Schumacher, who has often been more than half a second ahead of him in qualifying. Only in Monaco and Hungary, where Schumacher smashed his car up in practice, has Mazepin fared better than his team mate in qualifying.
The races have been a similar story. In ordinary circumstances, Schumacher has regularly come out on top, to Mazepin’s obvious displeasure.
There are signs Mazepin is beginning to close the gap in terms of one-lap performance. The gap between the pair has drawn closer as the season goes on.
Both have proved incident-prone, driving team principal Guenther Steiner to warn they need to get the incidents under control as the team’s repair bills mount up. Mazepin was, however, blameless in his latest retirement at the Hungaroring, where he was taken out by Kimi Raikkonen in the pits.
Irrespective of the outcome between the pair at the team this year, both drivers are expected to retain their places in F1. Steiner recently confirmed Mazepin will continue on his multi-year deal while a continuation for Schumacher is in the works and likely to be a formality.
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Mick Schumacher vs Nikita Mazepin: Key stats
Mick Schumacher vs Nikita Mazepin: Who finished ahead at each round
Mick Schumacher vs Nikita Mazepin: Qualifying gap
Times based on the last qualifying round at each race weekend in which both drivers set a time. Negative indicates Mick Schumacher was faster, positive means Nikita Mazepin was faster
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