US team terminates Russian Formula 1 driver's contract
The US Formula One team Haas announced today that it has terminated the contract of its Russian driver Nikita Mazepin and its sponsor Uralkali, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"The Haas Formula One Team has opted to immediately terminate its partnership with Uralcalli and the contract of driver Nikita Mazepin," the team said in a statement on its official website.
"Like the rest of the Formula One community, the team was shocked and saddened by the invasion of Ukraine and wished for a speedy peaceful end to the conflict," he said, without revealing the identity of Mazepin's replacement.
Mazepin, 23, arrived in Formula One last year and is the only Russian in the Queen class, having not scored a point last season.
He is the son of Russian billionaire Dmitry, a shareholder and non-executive director of Uralkali, which specializes in the production of potash, and his contract is linked to Uralkali's sponsorship contract.
On the last day of pre-season testing in Barcelona last week, the Haas team decided to give up the colors of Uralcalli on its two cars.
Haas, which relies on its car in blue, white and red colors after the Russian flag, offered a simple white livery without the main sponsor's branding.
Team leader Gunther Steiner considered that the team's financial situation would be good.
On Thursday, the promoter of the Formula One World Championship had permanently rescinded his contract with the promoter of the Russian Grand Prix, "which means that Russia will not receive a world tour in the future."
This came after the championship's supervisors announced last week the cancellation of the Russian race after the war on Ukraine, as Sochi should have hosted the last edition of the Grand Prix since it had been in 2014, before St Petersburg was awarded the honor of hosting starting in 2023. .
The decision of "Formula One" came in the context of the accelerating events and within a series of measures and sanctions taken by many international federations towards sports and Russian athletes.
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