F1: Russia wants Mazepin to do mandatory army service (2nd Update)

Mazepin has clarified his military service requirements and explained that he was already doing the required classes to fulfil his requirements alongside his degree at Moscow State University.

“From my side, you know, the situation is very clear,” Mazepin said.

“I study in university, and the way it works in Russia, there is a mandatory military service, and there are two ways of serving, if you’re fit enough.

“Option one is finishing university and then going for a year. And option two is if you qualify being fit enough in terms of your fitness results and in terms of your studying results, you can go on to something called like the elite army, which is served in a completely different way.

“It’s one day a week, and you’re learning to be a reserve officer. And it takes three years, but only one day a week, and it’s basically done in a class.

“This is what I’m doing for two years already. And I’m obviously going to continue doing it for one more year to hopefully graduate as a reserve officer.

“Five days ago, I passed my final exam in university for finishing my first four years, and I’m moving on to get a second masters degree later in the coming two years.”

(GMM) Nikita Mazepin says he remains committed to becoming a reserve officer in the Russian military.

The F1 rookie’s father and Haas title sponsor Dmitry Mazepin last week complained that the Russian military is insisting that his 22-year-old son complete his mandatory service.

“Nikita has 23 races to do this year, and they are telling him that he needs to join the army,” Dmitry Mazepin, head of the Uralchem company, was quoted as saying.

“He said to me, “Dad, what should I do? I have a race every two weeks’. Nobody wants to listen.”

When asked at Baku about the problem, the Haas driver insisted that he is not trying to escape from his duties to the Russian people.

“In Russia, military service is compulsory for everyone who is fit for it,” Nikita Mazepin explained.

“There are two options. The first is that you graduate from university and serve for one year, and the second is the military department, if your physical training and academic results are good enough.

“In the case of the military department, you study one day a week to be a reserve officer. The training period is three years, but everything happens in the classroom,” he said.

“I have been studying at the military department for two years now, so there is another year ahead. After that, I would like to believe that I will become a reserve officer.”

Meanwhile, Haas team boss Gunther Steiner brushed aside the latest on-track controversy involving Mazepin.

As the Russian and Mick Schumacher raced to the checkered flag at Baku, Mazepin jinked to the right towards his teammate at close to top speed.

“Does he want to kill us?” Schumacher exclaimed on the radio.

When asked about the incident, Steiner said: “Everything is settled already – we have already defused the situation.

“There was some misunderstanding, but everything is in order. We are moving on,” he added.

(GMM) Amid his already controversial first season in Formula 1, Nikita Mazepin is now coming under pressure from the Russian military.

The 22-year-old’s billionaire father Dmitry, who owns the Moscow-based chemical company and Haas title sponsor Uralchem, said at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum that the Russian military wants Nikita to complete his mandatory military service.

In Russia, a one-year draft is mandatory for all men over the age of 18.

“Nikita has 23 races to do this year, and they are telling him that he needs to join the army – ‘You need to go to the training camp’,” Mazepin snr revealed.

“He said to me, “Dad, what should I do? I have a race every two weeks’. Nobody wants to listen. But it’s not just about Nikita Mazepin, but everyone else who is in the same situation,” he added.

“The state doesn’t give a damn about these athletes.”