Haas Rejects Mazepin-Led Uralkali’s $13 Million Reimbursement Request, Counter Demands $8 Million

Haas F1 is not only busy with the battles on the grid but also off the grid. As the American AF1 team is in a legal fight with their ex-sponsors, Uralkali, and the matter is growing tense with each passing day.

The American F1 team terminated their contract with the Russian company, Uralkali, after the ongoing tension between Ukraine and Russia. But the Uralkali owner, Dmitry Mazepin, didn’t sit quietly. Instead, he asked Haas to repay the 13 million dollars that Uralkali gave for the season. Further, Dimitry also asked for a compensation of around 8.5 million dollars.

How did Haas F1 respond to Uralkali’s compensation demand?

The American F1 team rejected the claims of Dimitry and instead asked the Russian company to pay compensation. Many rumors suggest both parties can’t harm the image of each other. However, Haas donned the colors of the Russian flag as the livery color. It caused them trouble with their reputation because of the ongoing tension.

Haas’s official letter to Uralkali states, “According to doctrine and case law which are unanimous, the party which terminates the agreement for breach of the other party is not required to return to the latter what it has already received under the agreement. Uralkali’s request to obtain reimbursement of the deposit of EUR 12,000,000 is therefore unfounded and rejected.”

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“Until the above amount has been paid to Haas, there is no delivery obligation on Haas’ part and no delivery of the F1 car will take place,” the letter further stated.

How is the season going for the American F1 team?

The American F1 team is looking strong this season with the new challenger VF-22. It has a strong Ferrari power unit which is dominating this season, as Ferrari is leading in the tables. Further, the addition of Kevin Magnussen to the team gave a tremendous boost to Haas’s performance this season.

Haas F1 is not sitting last on the table this season but is ranking at P7 on the standings with 12 points. K-Mag finished P5 and P9 in the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races. Meanwhile, Mick Schumacher missed a point with one position in Bahrain, finishing P11 but had to miss the good race because of a terrible accident during qualifying.

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However, the Australian GP didn’t go well for the Haas F1, especially because of the safety cars. Even K-Mag agreed that the safety car session affected their strategy of using the hard tyres. The next race is in Imola and Haas F1 team is confident to finish in the Top 10 there. Let’s see how it goes for the American team next week.