F1 Outcast Nikita Mazepin Pleads for Leniency in Sanctions for an Elusive Return to Racing

Ever since Russia attacked Ukraine last year, the nation-states on the other side of the spectrum were quick to retort. The biggest weapon, to begin with, was the financial and other sanctions. Dmitry Mazepin, being one of the 14 recognized Russian oligarchs too faced the heat as his fertilizer company was ousted as Haas’ major sponsor. His son, Nikita Mazepin, too lost his Haas seat as a result and hasn’t found a return ticket to the pinnacle of motorsport. Mazepin Jr., who’s had enough of it now, has moved a Canadian court, pleading an exclusion from the sanctions.

The Mazepins are certainly among the worst affected by the sanctions. The Italian authorities seized his two yachts from Dmitry who also owns a mansion in Forte dei Marmi. However, he became the first Russian oligarch to bypass the sanctions earlier this year as he escaped with both his yachts. The authorities are currently on the lookout for him.

Nikita Mazepin requests exclusion from sanctions

Ever since his ouster from F1, Nikita is trying his hand at different racing disciplines. He even won a number of them and keeps updating his achievements through social media. However, most of that success has come either in Europe or in the Middle East. The Russian driver aims to expand his horizons to Canadian racing events and for that, he will need leniency in sanctions.

As per The Vancouver Sun, Mazepin recently put in a request in the Federal Court for Foreign Minister Melanie Joly to remove him from the sanctions list. The application stated that Mazepin is “a young athlete and professional motorsport driver who has nothing to do with the aggression Ukraine is subjected to”.

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His ouster from Haas wasn’t a smooth affair either. Nikita claimed that the team management never informed him of their decision to cut ties with him. He only got to know about it when they released the statement for the media.

Guenther Steiner recalls what the day was like when the news of the Russian invasion broke

Being the owner of an American F1 team with a Russian sponsor, in the midst of the growing tension between Russia and Ukraine had to be a distressing time for Guenther Steiner. Then came the day when the invasion began and that put Steiner in a difficult position. At first, he had to come to terms with what had happened. He recalled how the day when the news broke turned out for him.

In his recently released book Survive to Drive, Guenther wrote, “I woke up to the news that Russia invaded Ukraine.” [Translated using Google]

He then recalled what the conversation with the first Haas engineer he met went like. “Guenther, only Haas can have a Russian pilot and a Russian sponsor at the start of a Russian war that has made everyone in the world hate Russia! I almost got my pants wet, but he was right. I think we have some kind of curse on us.”

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Steiner also reflected on how the conversation with Nikita went before they decided to let him go. He remembered Mazepin making it clear that he was clear of all the politics. However, Haas boss saw the bigger picture and realizing how the Russian connection could sully his team’s image, decided to cut ties with Uralkali.