Nikita Mazepin is up and racing in a new Haas chassis this weekend at Spa. Team boss Gunther Steiner said the explanation for the anomaly is simple – Mazepin’s monocoque is slightly older, so it has required more repairs. But the news came amid rumours that Mazepin’s father Dmitry – the team’s title sponsor via his company Uralkali – was pushing for his son and Schumacher to swap chassis. At Spa-Francorchamps, Steiner confirmed: “Yes, Nikita has a new chassis. “I don’t know the exact data, but we cannot change the chassis stiffness without changing the homologation. As this is a homologated chassis, everything will be almost the same as on the previous car. “I don’t know if Nikita felt any difference – I’ll have to ask him,” said Steiner.

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