Mazepin "almost crashed" in F1 downforce experiment

Nikita Mazepin has revealed he "nearly crashed" his Haas after attempting to simulate the downforce loss of following another car during pre-season testing.

Following is notoriously difficult in Formula 1, with drivers suffering a considerable loss of downforce due to the amount of 'dirty air' created by the lead car.

It means a car is more likely to understeer through corners while braking distances will be dramatically increased, as is the likelihood of locking the front brakes.

Mazepin was lapping close to Alfa Romeo driver Antonio Giovinazzi on Saturday morning at the Bahrain International Circuit and decided to experience the shift in downforce levels for himself.

It was an experiment that nearly went embarrassingly wrong when the Russian experienced a huge snap of oversteer on the exit of the third corner.

Mazepin said: “It’s a known topic that Formula 1 cars have a lot of downforce and they do lose a lot of downforce following other cars.

"With such limited running and, obviously, such a lot of other cars being most likely in front of me in the start of the race in Bahrain, I wanted to experience the amount of downforce I will lose.

“I did get to experience that. I almost crashed to be honest because the wind snap was huge and it was a bit of a worrying moment.”

Comparing the loss of downforce to that which he experienced in junior series F2 last year, he added: “Currently I think there is a very big difference but it’s not a surprise to me.

"F2 does have a lot of downforce as well. It’s a heavier car so there are small gains here and there but overall it is not a new thing to me because races are more difficult.”

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