Nikita Mazepin says his relationship with Haas teammate Mick Schumacher has now evolved into a "neutral" rapport that serves his and the US outfit's interests.
Mazepin and Schumacher found themselves at odds with each other on the track on several occasions last summer, the pair of Haas rookies spending their year mostly battling each other at the rear end of the field.
Flash points in Baku, Paul Ricard and Zandvoort generated tensions and froze the relationship between the two drivers. But gradually, a sense of communication was restored for the benefit of the team.
"I think there were some difficult times when he was learning [about] me, I was learning [about] him," Mazepin explained in an interview with Motorsport.com.
"Every time I go out there, I want to be the car finishing in front, and I've always wanted that. And I will never stop wanting that until I leave that paddock and hang my pass on a wall.
"But now it's a very neutral relationship that doesn't have any highs and any lows, and it's just consistent. And that's the only way to achieve good results in this sport."
Although the two young guns are unlikely to share a holiday together, establishing a productive relationship is an important part of Haas development as a team insists Mazepin.
"I'm here to win races," he added. "I know that's probably not going to happen in the foreseeable future but the way to make it happen is to get the best car you can, and to set it up in the fastest way possible, and that takes two people to do it.
"I'm sure Mick has exactly the same thoughts, ambitions and goals in his mindset, so we do what is necessary for the team.
"And I actually think we always try with both sides of the garage to go a bit beyond in achieving those goals."
- Read also - F1i Team Report Card for 2021: Haas
Mazepin admitted that it was all about balancing his own interests as a driver with a collaborative effort that benefits the team as a whole.
"Of course, you have to slightly wind down your approach, be more careful when you're fighting with a teammate because in F1 it sort of is really critical if anything happens between the two cars from the same team," he said.
"But at the end of the day, we are here for Nikita Mazepin who races from Russia, and the other side is such and such from whichever country.
"I'm living my own life and I want to make my own life the best I can, and I want to make sure that I have as many trophies in my house from F1 or from any other series before I go into doing something else."
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