Nikita Mazepin apologised to Haas after spinning out three corners into his Formula One debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Mazepin spun out without making contact with another driver and hit the wall, ending his race immediately.
The Russian driver, who spun several times during practice on Friday and qualifying on Saturday, said he was fully to blame.
When asked what happened, he said: « Very simple, I made a mistake.
« The tyres were cold and I got on the kerb, took too much throttle and spun. Totally my mistake. Very sorry for the team because they deserve to do much better than that. Very angry with myself… yeah, sorry for the team. »
Mazepin said he got on the power too early while trying to avoid a collision with teammate Mick Schumacher.
« I really tried to avoid Mick as he was so close. Got too much on power and the tyres didn’t take it. My fault, very disappointed. »
Despite his short-lived F1 debut he said he had learned some good things from the weekend.
« Obviously there’s always positives to take. My days on track are very long. They include loads of things, so the learning experience is obviously there. You learn a lot during the days. You have your ups and down, but this is one of the biggest downs, but that’s life. »
Schumacher made it to the end of the race, finishing 16th of 16 classified drivers.
https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/31154427/mazepin-angry-early-crash-f1-debut
