War in Ukraine: F1 Team Haas Terminate Nikita Mazepin's Contract, Cut Ties with Sponsor Uralkali

The drawn out saga between Russian Formula One racer Nikita Mazepin and Haas F1 Team came to a conclusion as Haas announced that they would be terminating the contract of the Russian driver with immediate effect.

This statement also signalled the end of the deal that was in place between the team and Russian fertilizer company Uralkali who were the headline sponsors.

“Haas F1 Team has elected to terminate, with immediate effect, the title partnership of Uralkali, and the driver contract of Nikita Mazepin,” read the statement.

The writing seemed to be on the wall for Mazepin and Uralkali ever since news of Russian soldiers entering the Ukrainian sovereign land broke, creating an aire of uncertainty and unrest.

The statement that was released on Saturday, explicitly mentioned that the racing team stands in solidarity with the F1 community with regards to the situation in Ukraine.

“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.”

A series of events in the sporting world have been triggered by the full blown invasion of Ukraine by the Russian troops.

Ever since the Russian premier Vladimir Putin instructed the entry of Russian boots into the territory of their neighouring country, he has faced international condemnation and sporting bodies were one of the first respondents.

A plethora of events scheduled to take place in Russia were slated and a ban on athletes and sportsmen representing Russia have been imposed.

F1 announced the cancellation of the Russian Grand Prix slated to take place in Sochi during September of this year. Another key decision ensure that Russian drivers wouldn’t be able to contest in their events under Russian credentials citing the developments in Ukraine.

Nikita Mazepin’s father, Dmitry Mazepin, who owns Uralkali and is said to have close relations with Putin and is a person of interest to the Russian government, felt the impact of the sanctions slapped on entities from Russia shortly after Putin authorised the military operation.

Haas removed the branding of their title sponsor during their testing period in Barcelona and ran an all white car.

There has been no news of the replacement driver yet, but, one can be assured that Haas have been working on the same and an announcement could be due early next week.

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