Norris defends Mazepin from Twitch "hate"

Lando Norris has defended Nikita Mazepin after the Russian received abuse from fans of the McLaren driver on a Twitch stream recapping the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Mazepin lasted only three corners on his Formula 1 debut before losing control of his Haas and spinning into the barrier after making multiple mistakes throughout the weekend.

In a video streamed on Twitch earlier this month looking back at the season-opener, Norris - who finished fourth - reacted to comments made by fans in the chat section of the streaming platform.

"No need to hate on him for spinning, alright? I will start banning you," said Norris.

Offering an explanation for the incident, the British driver added: "It is a tricky one. A lot of this is because it is his first race and there are 18 cars, or whatever, in front.

"There is so much turbulence that he probably has very little downforce at this point because all of the air is being pushed out of the way by all of the cars ahead.

"He just overcorrects it. The thing is, it is such a big correction. It has gone so quick, it was pretty tough to save it, I would say. Not a lot he could have done. It is tricky.

"A little over-ambitious on the throttle? In hindsight, yes but the combination of it just being tricky and the car probably not making it that easy on him either. The worse the car you have, the easier it is to spin."

In the video, Norris consistently jumps back and forth to offer a light-hearted analysis of the whole race.

When he notices Mazepin's team-mate Mick Schumacher spin at the rear of the field at the safety car restart, Norris mocks those who made fun of the Russian.

He jokes: "Do you want to start hating on Mick as well because he spun?

"Do you want to start going 'haha, funny, nice spin mate'? Make it even right? Come on everyone, start hating on him as well."

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