Former F1 driver Nikita Mazepin is now a triathlete after brutal race with 46 degrees heat and cheetahs

Former F1 driver Nikita Mazepin has a new sport – he is now officially a triathlete.

The 26-year-old Russian spent a season in F1 with the Haas team (failing to score a point), before his dreams of making it big in that sport were ended in early 2022. His team parted ways with him soon after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine.

Since then Mazepin has tried a number of pursuits as well as still keeping his hand in motorsport – he raced the 24 Hours of Dubai in early 2025. But his favourite new thing it appears is swim/bike/run.

Mazepin at Challenge Sir Bani Yas

Nikita’s first big triathlon of 2025 was the new race that is Challenge Sir Bani Yas, which takes place on an island in the United Arab Emirates.

Wearing bib number 303, Mazepin took part in the big race as an Age Grouper in the 24-29 category, over a 1.9km swim, 96km bike and 21.1km run in the middle of a landscape which is home to cheetahs, hiyenas and giraffes. A brutal test.

Results and time splits

Nikita began his day with a 35:38 swim, and followed it up with a 3:50:34 bike leg. He the finished his day with the small measure of that half-marathon run, completing it in a time of 1:46:30.

Mazepin’s total finishing time was 5:39:53, good enough to place him 30th in his Age Group – not too shabby for a first effort.

After the race he appeared ecstatic as he posed for photos with his finisher’s medal, and he spoke of that excitement in a post on his Instagram account.

Mazepin said the race gave him the ‘coolest emotions since F1’ – pretty high praise – and said of his day: “Completed my first half-distance race in Sir Bani. The heat here was the main challenge for everyone, reaching 46 degrees at the peak of the race. A couple of times because of overheating it seemed like I would not make it to the finish line.”

But make it to the finish line he did, and now we wait to see where he races next as the 2025 triathlon season rumbles on.