Mick Schumacher was furious with Haas teammate Nikita Mazepin for a piece of driving which nearly led to a collision at the end of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
On the long straight at the end of Baku’s circuit, Schumacher used the slipstream to reel Mazepin in. As Schumacher moved to the right to make the overtake, Mazepin moved the same direction at very late notice.
The moment happened at one of the fastest points on the F1 calendar, where cars are traveling at speeds well in excess of 200 mp/h.
Schumacher was able to avoid a collision and finished the race 0.07s ahead in 13th.
Schumacher was furious.
His radio message to the team immediately after the race was: “What the f— was that? Honestly, does he want to kill us.”
The last lap incident between Schumacher and Mazepin 😳 pic.twitter.com/VjTsbRyUq1
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) June 6, 2021
Speaking to the media after the race, Mazepin said he was a sitting duck because he had lost battery power in his car.
In his post-race press release, Haas team boss Guenther Steiner said the drivers had resolved the incident after the event.
“There was a situation on the straight, that was all resolved, and we’ve cleared the air,” Steiner said.
“There was some misunderstanding, but we’re fine and all moving on from it.”
It was Schumacher and Mazepin’s best results of their rookie season, courtesy of race retirements for Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll, while Lewis Hamilton’s mishap at the restart relegated him to the back of the order with two laps left.