F1 Future of Nikita Mazepin & Other Drivers Under Threat as Ukraine’s Motor Racing Federation Writes to FIA

Ever since the start of this year, Haas have often found themselves revolving under the limelight for good reasons; After an awful stint since 2019, the forthcoming new era finally offered the American outfit a glimmer of hope and the engineers looked more motivated than ever. Also, to boost their F1 championship prospects, there was the newly designed Ferrari that added more fuel to the ever-growing hype.

However, in the last few days, the journey has taken a detour for the worst. Amidst the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Haas took a direct hit, thanks to their active title partnership with the government-backed Russian company, Uralkali.

And, as the situation between the two countries escalated, Haas chose to scrape Uralkali off their cars and garage during the final day of testing in Barcelona. What’s more, Guenther Steiner recently affirmed that the talks between Haas and Uralkali would soon begin over the potential contract termination.

Well, now, all eyes have landed on Nikita Mazepin whose future in F1 is starting to dwindle. If Uralkali does end their brief Haas partnership, it is likely that Mazepin, too, will follow the company out of American outfit. However, quite unfortunately, the conflict might not only affect Mazepin but also other Russian drivers, currently competing in other series.

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What happens to Russian drivers in F1 & other series?

Recently, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the FIA, wrote to the FAU (Federation Automobile D’Ukraine) to assure the governing body’s full support.

Consequently, according to ESPN, the FAU responded with a string of requests to the FIA to:

• Prohibit the use of state symbols of the aggressor countries of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus during the FIA and FIA-sanctioned competitions;
• Prohibit the holding of FIA competitions and authorized FIA competitions on the territory of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus;
• Prohibit RAF and RAF-sanctioned competitions in the occupied territories of Ukraine;
• To exclude from the FIA all members from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus;
• To exclude from the FIA commissions all persons representing organizations from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus;
• Prohibit holders of all licenses issued by the RAF and BAF from competitions outside the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.

If you’re wondering whom this could affect if the FIA approves, there are three drives who might have to back out of their racing seats; Of all, there’s Mazepin. But, along with the Haas driver, this could also affect Daniil Kvyat, the soon-to-be World Endurance Championship driver and F2 driver, Robert Shwartzman.

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