More Trouble for Haas as Uralkali Demands Refund for F1 Contract Annulment

Haas got into another bit of trouble as Uralkali demands reimbursement. The American team has been under a contract with the Russian company for a year now. Uralkali has been Haas’ principal sponsor in the 2021 F1 season.

The agreement between the two outfits got terminated last week after the Russian-Ukraine conflict. Haas called off their agreement with Uralkali and their Russian driver, Nikita Mazepin.

Uralkali stated that they’ve paid off most of their money to Haas and now want their money back from the F1 team. The official statement of Uralkali as published by TheRace.com reads that it “intends to protect its interests in line with applicable legal procedures and reserves its rights to initiate judicial proceedings, claim damages and seek repayment of the significant amounts.”

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What’s next for Haas and Uralkali and Nikita Mazepin?

Uralkali further stated that the termination was unjust and unreasonable. The company went on to assert that it “believes that sports should always be free of politics and pressure from external factors.”

The company also conveyed that they want to make use of the money in a good way nevertheless. They added, “The refund from Haas and the remaining part of Uralkali’s sponsor financing for 2022 will be used to establish the We Compete As One athlete support foundation.”

The reason for the contract termination between the two parties is Nikita Mazepin. Dmitry Mazepin is a shareholder in Uralkali. It is believed that the sponsorship got his son a seat in Haas. As the P10 team, last season decided to call off their agreement with Nikita, that means Uralkali will also take away their sponsorship.

Haas driver Nikita Mazepin however, seemed upset about the way everything was handled. The driver wanted more support from the team as he grieved about having his entire hard work go down.

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Moreover, Mazepin expressed that he got to know about his conclusion with Haas through the press. The 23-year-old driver also stated that he was not in contact with the team boss Guenther Steiner post-Barcelona testing. All in all, the situation inside Haas and Uralkali is pretty tense.