How Rivalry Is Leading To The Downfall of HAAS

The HAAS Formula One team has been competing in Grand Prixes since the 2016 season. In 107 race weekends (so far) the team has gotten a total of 200 points, getting 3 points in their most recent full season in 2020.

Now in 2021 HAAS has two totally new drivers for the first time since their first Grand Prix weekend back in 2016, those drivers being Nikita Mazepin and 2020 F2 Championship winner Mick Schumacher. Despite that the team has not done well at all this season as their best finish is p13 with Schumacher. Now I wanna add that HAAS stated that they will not develop their cars this season in preparation for the 2022 season so they can save money, this also comes after Mazepin's dad, Dmitry Mazepin who owns a multi-million dollar company (Uralkai) became shareholders of the team. Basically with that, that means that Nikita Mazepin is a money driver as were he goes his dad's money goes. That makes Mazepin a very valuable driver and makes teams 'blind' on his performance due to all the cash covering their eyes. Overall being a money driver is not a bad thing, we have seen many famous and successful Formula One drivers start off as 'money' drivers.

Now lets get to the biggest thing, rivalry. Over the past few race weekends we have seen both HAAS drivers tangle on the track with both bashing each other, whether it's on the track or over the radio. By think they can not fully work as teammates, and with Mazepin spinning out almost every lap it's like Mick does not even have a teammate. Overall you can see the development in Mick, but no so much in Nikita and let me remind you that these drivers are basically racing in cars that are from 2020 and they are getting top 15 finishes. I feel like Mick would do better with a veteran like Robert Kubica or Nico Hulkenberg, but most likely we will never see that, we will also never see the firing of Nikita Mazepin due to the huge financial loss the team would suffer. The rivalry they have is toxic and can stunt the growth of HAAS by them damaging equipment and getting poor finishes. This year and the next will be very critical to the survival of the team, with that they will need strong drivers and I do not think that Mazepin is one of them.