Mazepin hit with 15-place grid penalty for Abu Dhabi

Nikita Mazepin has received a 15-place grid penalty for the season finale at Abu Dhabi in November after causing a major collision on the opening lap of the Formula 2 Sprint Race in Sochi.

Starting from reverse grid pole, the Russian ran wide at Turn 2 along with Jack Aitken and attempted to rejoin the circuit at different points around the bollards laid down.

Contact was made between the two, which pitched Mazepin into Nobuharu Matsushita who was then sent nose-first into the wall and out of the race.

"The incident began when Louis Delétraz arrived at the entrance of Turn 2 at an excessively high speed and was unable to negotiate the corner," read a statement. "Subsequently, Mazepin forced Jack Aitken off the track.

"The Campos Racing driver successfully negotiated the Styrofoam blocks in the runoff area, as directed by the Race Director’s notes, but Mazepin did not follow the same path and instead took a short cut, which resulted in a collision with both Aitken and Nobuharu Matsushita. Both Mazepin and Matsushita retired, which brought out a red flag.

"The ART Grand Prix driver was found to be at fault for the accident because, in the opinion of the stewards, he showed a total lack of due care for his fellow drivers and caused a bad incident, which could have been much worse. 

"As a consequence, Mazepin has been handed a 15-place grid drop for the final round of the Formula 2 season, at Yas Marina."