Haas, the Formula One team, terminated Nikita Mazepin’s contract and the driver will not race for them in 2022. The team also terminated its contract with the title sponsor, Uralkali.
BREAKING: Haas terminate Mazepin's contract#F1 pic.twitter.com/ysKBx87sAd
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 5, 2022
The formula one team was really disturbed due to the invasion of Ukraine and had to take this decision. The team statement read that HAAS F1 has decided to terminate the contract of Nikita Mazepin immediately and standing with the Formula 1 community, they are “shocked by the invasion of Ukraine.” The statement ended with a wish for a peaceful end to the crisis going on between Russia and Ukraine.
TEAM STATEMENT #HaasF1 pic.twitter.com/5aEXLzYtmV
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) March 5, 2022
Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, the sport’s governing body, gave the option to Russian and Belarusian drivers to compete in international motorsport if they agreed to race under a neutral flag. They are not allowed to express any type of support towards Russia’s actions.
However, on Saturday, Haas announced that the deals with Mazepin and Uralkali had been terminated. News regarding the replacement driver will be revealed the following week.
Mazepin joined the team in 2021 as part of a sponsorship deal with title sponsor Uralkali. Uralkali, the fertilizer company is partly owned by Nikita’s father, Dmitry Mazepin. Dmitry was part of a discussion with Vladimir Putin regarding sanctions placed on the country following the invasion of Ukraine.
Uralkali’s branding from the car was removed during the final day of the preseason test in Barcelona last week.
