Haas F1 have condemned the “abhorrent” behaviour of driver Nikita Mazepin over a video posted to his Instagram account.
The 21-year-old Russian – who was confirmed as a new Haas driver last week – appeared in a now-deleted video on his Instagram Stories, where he seemed to inappropriately touch a woman’s chest on the back seat of a car.
The woman reacts by moving her hand in reaction to being touched, seemingly in rejection of Mazepin’s action, before gesturing at the camera with her middle finger and covering the lens.
The short video, although removed, circulated online and received widespread criticism.
Haas responded with a brief statement confirming the team will deal with the matter “internally”.
“Haas F1 Team does not condone the behaviour of Nikita Mazepin in the video recently posted on his social media,” said the statement.
“Additionally, the very fact that the video was posted on social media is also abhorrent to Haas F1 Team.
“The matter is being dealt with internally and no further comment shall be made at this time.”
The Russian driver issued an apology on Twitter for causing an “offense”.
He said: “I would like to apologise for my recent actions both in terms of my own inappropriate behaviour and the fact that it was posted onto social media.
“I am sorry for the offense I have rightly caused and to the embarrassment I have brought to Haas F1 team. I have to hold myself to a higher standard as a Formula 1 driver and I acknowledge I have let myself and many people down.”
He added: “I promise I will learn from this.”
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