Nikita Mazepin has run dead last among the cars that finished in all but two sessions of the entire 2021 season, including practice sessions, qualifying, and races. And on Friday, during the first practice sessions for this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, Mazepin didn’t disappoint once again.
Mazepin finished last in both, spinning out in the first practice session before finishing almost 3.5 seconds off the leader. In the second, Mazepin got in the way of Kimi Räikkönen as they exited the pits in the second practice session, before a miffed Räikkönen sped by while both exited. Mazepin then finished 2.5 seconds behind the leader.
We could blame the car, and the Haas car is, indeed, very slow, but that also wouldn’t be fair to Mazepin’s teammate Mick Schumacher, who has consistently been quicker than him, and sometimes a lot quicker.
Which means, if he keeps this up, we’ll eventually have to consider whether Mazepin is the worst Formula 1 driver of all time, because he is probably already one of the worst. The contenders for worst ever include Yuji Ide, Taki Inoue, Ricardo Rosset, Giovanni Lavaggi, and Perry McCarthy, and probably more than a few others, all of whom lay their claim to infamy in unique ways.
Mazepin’s way seems to be simply being a poor driver, and possibly, as some have argued, dangerously poor. There have been 17 sessions so far this season, including eleven practices, three qualifying sessions, and three races. Mazepin has DNF’d or finished last among the cars that finished in all of them, except the third practice in Bahrain, when he finished second-to-last, and the first practice at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, when he finished 18th.
This is, as they say, incredible stuff, and forget earning a point this season; Mazepin’s goal should be to do all he can to not go down as the worst ever.