March 05, (THEWILL) – The Haas Formula One team has dropped Russian driver, Nikita Mazepin, according to a statement released on Saturday. Mazepin’s father is a Russian businessman, who is close to Russian President, Vladimir Putin.
The news comes as Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, which began on February 24, continue and the sports world has united in its opposition to the Putin-led invasion.
The Haas statement read in part: “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 One community, the team is shocked and saddened by the invasion of Ukraine and wishes for a swift and peaceful end to the conflict.”
Mazepin expressed his disappointment in the termination of his contract in a statement of his own, which read: “While I understand the difficulties, the ruling from FIA plus my ongoing willingness to accept the conditions proposed in order to continue were completely ignored and no process was followed in this unilateral step.
“To those who have tried to understand, my eternal thanks. I have treasured my time in F1 and genuinely hope we can all be together again in better times. I will have more to say in the coming days.”
By no means is this the first time that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has prompted reactions in Formula One.
As THEWILL reported, F1 ended its contract with the Russian Grand Prix promoter on Thursday, less than a week after cancelling the race, citing how “impossible” it was to hold the race “in the current circumstances.” The race was supposed to take place in Sochi in September.
Due to the collapse of the agreement, Russia will no longer host an F1 event.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
