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The 21-year-old is currently third in the
Formula Two standings and is expected to be joined at Haas next
season by F2 leader Mick Schumacher, son of Ferrari great and
seven times world champion Michael Schumacher.
"Becoming a Formula One driver is a lifelong dream come true for
me," said Mazepin in a team statement ahead of the Sakhir Grand
Prix in Bahrain.
Mazepin's father Dmitry owns Russian fertilizer maker Uralchem
and tried to buy the Force India team after it went into
administration in 2018, losing out to Canadian Lawrence Stroll.
Mazepin senior, through the Uralkali business that he co-owns,
is taking legal action in London against the former joint
administrators of Force India following their acceptance of
Stroll's bid.
Stroll's son Lance now races for the renamed Racing Point team
that will become Aston Martin next year.
Nikita Mazepin has won two Formula Two feature races this season
with four additional podium placings. The Formula Two season
ends in Bahrain this weekend.
"Nikita has underlined his credentials in Formula Two this
year," said Haas team boss Guenther Steiner.
"He's developed into a mature racer moving up through the junior
ranks - notably most recently in the GP3 Series, where he
finished runner-up in 2018, and obviously in Formula Two over
the past two seasons."
Haas announced in October that French driver Romain Grosjean,
involved in a fiery crash in Bahrain last Sunday, and Denmark's
Kevin Magnussen would leave at the end of the year.
Grosjean said at the time of the announcement that Steiner had
told him "for financial reasons, I need both of you out".
Steiner, who had been open in acknowledging money as well as
talent would be considered in driver selection, said last week
that the team's big achievement this year had been their
survival.
The Ferrari-powered team are ninth of 10 in the standings with
just three points from 15 races in a season hit by the COVID-19
pandemic.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London; Editing by Alison Williams
and Andrew Cawthorne)
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