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Former Haas F1 driver Nikita Mazepin and his father, Dmitry Mazepin, have been added to the list of individuals sanctioned by the European Union, which includes travel restrictions and asset freezes, according to Financial Times.
Nikita Mazepin drove for the Haas F1 team in 2021 and was under contract to return this season.
(Hasan Bratic/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Dmitry Mazepin controls Russian fertilizer giant Uralchem, which had its sponsorship of the Haas F1 team terminated along with his son’s driver contract last week.
“He is a natural person associated with a leading businessperson (his father) involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the Government of the Russian Federation, which is responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilisation [sp] of Ukraine,” the Official Journal of the EU says regarding Nikita Mazepin.
Nikita and Dmitry Mazepin (L) met with Russian President Putin (R) on the sidelines of the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi in 2018.
(Mikhail KlimentyevTASS via Getty Images)
American-owned Haas said last week that the situation had become untenable, even though a ruling by the FIA Motorsports governing body would’ve allowed Mazepin to drive this year under the organization’s flag instead of Russia’s.
Uralchem has asked the team to return all the sponsorship money that was paid to it for this season and has threatened legal action if it does not comply, WTF1.com reported.
Nikita Mazepin, 23, said the announcement of his dismissal came without any notice.
“I was not ready for it. I did not receive any hint, or any support to say ‘you know, this is the decision we’ve taken, it’s going to go live in 15 minutes, just be ready for it’,” Mazepin said, according to WTF1.com.
Putin had a face-to-face meeting with Mazepin in January.
(Mikhail MetzelTASS via Getty Images)
He also said he has no intention of ever trying to go back to a team that doesn’t want him but refrained from explicitly bad-mouthing Haas.
“If I get the chance to speak to the team – I want to note that it definitely won’t be me reaching out, because I feel that I haven’t done anything [bad] – then of course I will tell them directly what I personally think of this.”
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Haas F1 has not announced a full-time replacement for Mazepin, but his seat is being filled at testing in Bahrain this week by the team’s reserve driver, Pietro Fittipaldi.