Sports Mole rounds up all of the latest news regarding Formula 1 on Wednesday, December 9.

Wednesday morning's Formula 1 news roundup

Mazepin mistakes 'must not occur in F1' - Steiner

Nikita Mazepin "must not" carry over to his F1 debut next year some of the "mistakes" he has been making in Formula 2.

That is the view of Haas boss Gunther Steiner, ahead of the wealthy Russian's move into Formula 1 with the small American team in 2021.

Mazepin, 21, caused a stir in Bahrain with his excessive racing tactics, which attracted penalties from the FIA and a rebuke from Daniel Ricciardo.

"What he did crossed the line," the Australian said.

It reminded observers of Mazepin's reckless behaviour in parc ferme after the Spa race earlier this year, when he hit the 'P2' marker board and almost struck Yuki Tsunoda in protest of a penalty that cost him the win.

When asked about last weekend's Bahrain race, in which Mazepin was extreme in his defensive driving, Steiner said: "I could say that I didn't see the race, but that would be cheating.

"So, I say that Nikita fought very hard and got a penalty, which is part of his learning progress. He has to understand that such mistakes must not occur in Formula 1."

F1 commentator doubts Russell conspiracy theory

A Formula 1 commentator has hit back at conspiracy theories surrounding Mercedes' bungled pitstops that cost George Russell victory last weekend in Bahrain.

According to the theory, the German team intervened deliberately with the bungled strategy, involving Mercedes pit mechanics fitting teammate Valtteri Bottas' tyres to his car.

Russell, who was replacing the ill Lewis Hamilton, then recovered the places and was shaping up to re-take the race lead when he was called in again for a slow puncture.

"I've had victories taken away from me before, but twice? I couldn't believe it," the British driver said afterwards.

Conspiracy theorists have wondered if Mercedes prevented Russell from winning in order to save the regular occupant of the car - the highly paid seven time world champion Hamilton - from embarrassment as he recovers from covid-19.

"I've read a lot of conspiracy theories that Hamilton and Wolff didn't want Russell to win, because it would hurt Hamilton's market value," said Alexey Popov, the commentator for Russian broadcaster Match TV.

"But to be honest, if Toto didn't want someone to go so fast, he wouldn't have made the effort he made to pull Russell out of Williams for that race," he insisted.

"Williams didn't really want to give George away and we don't know all the details behind that. Maybe they (Mercedes) had to pay extra.

"Everyone at Mercedes then worked until four in the morning to somehow fit Russell in that car, then there are the huge number of procedures he had to learn. If they didn't want to, they would have put the reserve driver in there," Popov added.

However, Popov acknowledged of the Mercedes mistakes: "It happened, and it looked terrible."

More news from Formula 1:

W Series included on 2021 British Grand Prix undercard
An eight-race calendar, starting in France on June 26 and concluding in Mexico on October 30, has been announced. Read more.

Quitting F1 'would have been easy' for Renault - Prost
Renault over-performed in 2020, according to team advisor and F1 legend Alain Prost. Read more.

Hamilton holds 2021 teammate 'trump card'
Lewis Hamilton holds "a trump card" when it comes to the identity of his teammate for 2021. Read more.

Lewis Hamilton hopeful of returning for Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton missed last Sunday's penultimate round in Bahrain after contracting coronavirus while on holiday in Dubai. Read more.

Hamilton 'on right track' for Abu Dhabi return - Wolff
Toto Wolff says Mercedes' star driver is "on the right track" for returning to the cockpit this weekend in Abu Dhabi. Read more.