Haas have terminated Nikita Mazepin’s contract in wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, plus dropped Uralkali as a title sponsor.
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Thursday 24 February, Haas pulled Mazepin from a planned driver press conference during the first pre-season test in order to avoid him facing tricky non-F1 questions.
This decision was also done in part due to Mazepin’s family links to Russia President, Vladimir Putin.
Haas also dropped Uralkali branding from their car for the final day of the first test whilst F1 moved to cancel the 2022 Russian Grand Prix, which was followed by termination of F1’s contract with Russian Grand Prix as a whole.
The team also undertook steps with their legal team to terminate Mazepin’s contract as well as Uralkali’s sponsorship, which was eventually confirmed on Saturday morning (5 March) in a short statement on social media.
The statement read as the following; ‘Haas F1 Team has elected to terminate with immediate effect, the title partnership of Uralkali, and the driver contract of Nikita Mazepin.
‘As with the rest of the Formula 1 community, the team is shocked and saddened by the invasion of Ukraine and wishes for a swift and peaceful end to the conflict.’
TEAM STATEMENT #HaasF1 pic.twitter.com/5aEXLzYtmV
— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) March 5, 2022
Mazepin meanwhile tweeted of feeling ‘completely ignored’ despite accepting conditions imposed by the FIA on Russian and Belarusian drivers.
— Nikita Mazepin (@nikita_mazepin) March 5, 2022
This announcement consequently means that Mazepin’s F1 career is now over after just one season, in which he failed to score any points in 21 races due to Haas focusing their development on this year’s car instead.
The Russian previously tweeted on Friday 25 February that he was focused on what he can control in terms of the situation, as he opted to stay silent on his thoughts concerning Putin and instead focus on pre-season preparations.
To my fans and followers – it’s a difficult time and I am not in control over a lot of what is being said and done. I’m choosing to focus on what I CAN control by working hard and doing my best for my @HaasF1Team . My deepest thanks for your understanding and support. 🙏
— Nikita Mazepin (@nikita_mazepin) February 25, 2022
Motorsport UK meanwhile this week banned Russian drivers and teams from events held on British soil, despite FIA insisting that they can compete albeit under a neutral FIA flag.
Haas will confirm Mazepin’s replacement in due course with Pietro Fittipaldi set to be promoted from his role as Reserve Driver, having previously replaced Romain Grosjean for the final two races of 2020 after the Frenchman suffered injuries in a serious incident.
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