Haas has ditched driver Nikita Mazepin and title sponsor Uralkali ahead of the Bahrain pre-season test which precedes the start of the 2022 F1 season. The American team had issues even in Barcelona, having to run a non-Uralkali branded car during Day 3 of Barcelona testing.
F1 had recently cancelled their deal with the Russian GP promoters entirely, which basically meant no more Grand Prix will be held in the country. Though they allowed Belarusian and Russian drivers to compete under a neutral FIA flag, the complications would have been immense to get around. Haas is the only team to have a Russian driver and so much Russian influence within the team, so the hardships they’d have to go through would’ve been immense.
It is presently unclear who exactly will take up Mazepin’s place, and whether Haas will find a new title sponsor before the start of the season. Pietro Fittipaldi is expected to be the one to step up, though there are rumours that the team is interested in ex-F1 drivers Nico Hulkenberg, Kevin Magnussen and more to fill this vacant seat. Nikita’s Russian background, and Uralkali which is headed by Nikita’s father Dmitry Mazepin being funded by the Russian government would have seen a massive public outcry against Haas, who have already had to endure 3 successive painfully unsuccessful seasons in F1 from 2019-2021, picking up only a handful of points across 2019-20 and having a point-less 2021 season.
However, what is certain is that Uralkali will no longer be a part of F1, and Nikita’s F1 career seems to be completely over. It is the first time in a while that a driver under contract has had his contract terminated before the start of the season as well, so to see who will fill the vacancy will be interesting!
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