"It's 99 percent certain that you'll definitely see me in Formula One

In mid-October, Nikita Mazepin announced the end of his Formula 1 career. A month later, Izvestia and Sport-Express talked to our most talked-about racing driver about his future plans - from business to hockey, triathlon and shooting. The ex-Haas pilot told us that he is preparing to take part in the Russian championship in a new discipline, as well as to overcome the Ironman.

- Last week your crew with Ivan Bezdenezhnykh won the final, fifth stage of the Russian Rally-Raid Cup "Baja Astrakhan - 2024". You also became the winner of the Russian Rally-Raid Cup at the end of the season. What are your impressions of this success?

- It is a more relaxed format than I am used to in open-wheel series. Frankly speaking, it is a variant of amateur motorsport, which brings me pleasure. The race lasted three days on the expanses of the Astrakhan region. There is beautiful nature around, fresh air. This is to my liking. I am glad that I managed to show the result, and for me it is a good milestone in my development in racing.

I believe that there are four significant events in rally-raids, in the T3 category. This is the Silk Way Rally, which I won. The Russian Cup, which I won. The Russian Championship, which I am going to drive next year and hope to win as well. And the Dakar Rally. That is, now I am at exactly 50% of the way completed in rally-raids, and when I finish the remaining two prizes, I may move to other categories. But I would like to emphasize that we are talking about motor racing as an amateur activity.

- Is there a possibility that you will take part in the "Dakar" next year?

- The plan to ride the "Dakar" was born in my head back in 2021. At that time we discussed with Sergey Karjakin that I could take part in the rally-raid as a current F1 driver. It would have been quite a unique story. Unfortunately, the higher powers had a different plan, and we all know the situation that happened to me in March 2022 (the Russian driver lost his place in "Haas" after the American team decided to terminate his contract unilaterally. - Ed.). So I'm sure that for the rest of my life I will definitely ride the Dakar. But I can't say that it will happen in 2025, because it doesn't depend on me. I am ready, the 99 Racing team is ready to announce me. The only question is whether the Russian team will be allowed to start, under what flag and under what conditions.

- Is professional motorsport a chapter already passed for you?

- It is a chapter that I had to pass, because for many years motorsport was my main activity. I covered my existential needs with it. When I woke up in the morning, I could answer the questions: "Why am I here?", "Who am I?", "How am I different from other professionals?". I was one of the top 20 riders in the world, and I was happy with that position. I had a five-year contract with the Haas team, and I planned to spend at least five years in Formula 1. To achieve success in this series.

My dream was cut short for political reasons beyond my control, but at 25, I refuse to accept that the best years of my life are behind me. My goals to be the best and successful have both stood and will continue to stand until I retire. And that's a long way off. Yes, I've been focused on racing, but I've always taken a broader view of my life. I got a good education, learned languages. So one door closed for me and another one opened. It's quite wide.

- Your quote: "When my F1 career is over, I would like to become a successful businessman. Follow in my father's footsteps." Are you on the way to that now? Or do you still have other plans?

- "Yes, I decided to focus on business three days after breaking my contract in F1 and I'm not going off that path. I believe that there are two correct models for building a life: either to strengthen your strengths or to work on your weaknesses. I'm choosing the former for now. I have entrepreneurial genes, a good education, a serious base in sports. So I have all the prerequisites to look for myself in business and, possibly, in business related to sports.

- Will you help your father in the Russian Aquatics Federation, which he recently took over?

- It doesn't depend on me, but I would love to be involved in the process, considering that the first sport I started practicing as a child was swimming. And I even managed to participate in a few competitions. So if my help is needed, I am ready.

- What other sports are you interested in?

- I am fond of practical shooting and next year I plan to take part in the Russian Championship. I practice it twice a week. I also started playing hockey twice a week. I devote the remaining three days to triathlon. I plan to compete at Ironman in 2025, and this requires very good preparation.

- In September, the European Union finally lifted the sanctions against you. Was it an uphill struggle?

- It was not an easy time. For two and a half years of being on the sanctions lists, I lost a lot. After the sanctions were lifted, there was a hypothetical opportunity to travel to the good old places in Europe that are close to me. I did not gain anything else and, in general, I remained in the deepest disadvantage in terms of destroying the dream I had been moving towards for a long time. That is, I went through a vivid path from being at the peak of my form as a professional athlete to its unexpected, unprepared end. If we take it globally, my career was completely curtailed in one week.

However, there is another side to this coin. I can absolutely say that this situation made me stronger. I became a more ecologically useful person to society. I had the opportunity to be of service and help fellow athletes who were in a similar situation. As part of the We Stand As One Foundation, we have done and will do many more successful cases. I have been engaged in my spiritual development and have discovered a lot of things about my purpose. Therefore, unfortunately, on my shelf will not be a cup from the Formula 1 podium, which I at least wanted to earn, and perhaps I would like to present to Russian motorsport a new world champion in the Formula 1 class. I dreamed about it, but I lost the dream. However, I found a lot of new things. And it is not for me to judge which of these is more important.

- Is there a possibility that you will still return to the "Royal races"?

- I am 99 percent sure that you will definitely see me in Formula 1. But, as in the famous anecdote, there is a nuance. It lies in the role in which I will return to the "Royal Race". I think that no longer in the role of a racer.

- Who of the Russian pilots in the foreseeable future can break into the "Formula 1"? Perhaps Robert Shvartsman?

- I can not call him our pilot, because he has made a choice in favor of another country (acts under the license of Israel. - Ed.). If your question was about Israeli drivers, I would have mentioned him. As for the Russians, it is difficult to answer this question, because the number of our talented drivers is off the scale now. The Russian karting school, in my opinion, is the best in the world. When I was doing [karting], I could only dream of such conditions. So are our athletes ready to be the best on the world motorsport scene? Absolutely yes. Is the world public ready and will their political regulators allow the Russians to enter the world series? In my estimation, today, unfortunately, no.