Following the termination of contracts with Russian players throughout various sports, Nikita Mazepin is the latest casualty. Haas F1 team, on Saturday, announced that it has terminated its contract with Nikita Mazepin and the Russian will not race for them anymore.
Mazepin joined the American F1 team in 2021 following a sponsorship deal with ex-title sponsor Uralkali. The Russian fertilizer company had its ties cut with the F1 team along with Mazepin. The decision comes just two weeks before the start of the new Formula 1 season, and 10 days since Russian forces attacked Ukraine.
The governing body of F1, FIA, has allowed Russian and Belarusian drivers to compete under neutral flags. If the drivers want to compete, they are not allowed to express any thoughts or feelings in support of Russia’s decisions.
However, Haas has decided that Mazepin should not race for them and terminated the Russian contract. “Haas F1 Team has elected to terminate, with immediate effect, the title partnership of Uralkali, and the driver contract of Nikita Mazepin,” said a statement from the team as PTI reports.
The 23-year-old Russian did not hold back while expressing his disappointment as he said the team “completely ignored” FIA’s ruling.
— Nikita Mazepin (@nikita_mazepin) March 5, 2022
Mazepin also called out the team for not consulting him before deciding as he mentioned they took a “unilateral step”. With the new season starting in two weeks, his replacement driver is yet to be confirmed by the team.
