Formula 1 driver Nikita Mazepin loses his job at Haas after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Russian and his father, an oligarch, are put on the sanctions list by the EU. This would make it impossible to continue his career, a court now judges differently.
According to a judgment by the General Court of the European Union, the controversial Russian motorsport driver Nikita Mazepin can quietly hope for a return to Formula 1. Accordingly, the 24-year-old is now again allowed to enter the European Union to negotiate with teams there. However, he must not be supported by his father Dimitri, who owns the Russian mining company Uralkali.
"I'm very happy with the verdict, it gives me hope to continue my career in professional motorsport," Mazepin told AFP news agency: "I'll do everything I can to make up for the lost year and do the sport I love, and to whom I am committed."
Mazepin was Mick Schumacher's team-mate at Rennstall Haas, and the team terminated the contract with the Russian shortly after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Haas also separated from the sponsor Uralkali. Mazepin and his father were subsequently placed on the sanctions list by the EU and banned from entering the country.
The court now found that Mazepin "as a professional athlete has always taken a neutral position on the war" and only asks "that he be given the opportunity to continue his career (...) without the financial support of his father."
From a sporting point of view, it seems highly unlikely that Mazepin will get a cockpit in Formula 1 any time soon. In the only season so far, 2021, he did not convince, made many mistakes and did not get a point. He also didn't have the best relationship with Schumacher. Because of Uralkali's sponsorship, however, Mazepin's place at Haas was secure before the war began.
