Fired Russian Formula One driver Nikita Mazepin and his father Dmitry have been included on a list of individuals who face European Union sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Last week, the Haas F1 team terminated Mazepin’s contract and the contract of its title sponsor Uralkali, a Russian chemical producer that is part-owned by Dmitry’s Uralchem company.
The EU document describes Mazepin Sr. as “a member of the closest circle of Vladimir Putin” due to him being invited by the Russian president to a meeting of 36 other businesspeople to discuss how sanctions would impact Russia.
“According to the company [Uralchem], it is the largest producer of ammonium nitrate as well as the second-largest producer of ammonia and nitrogen fertilisers in Russia,” the EU document reads.
“Dmitry Arkadievich Mazepin is thus involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the Government of the Russian Federation, which is responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilisation of Ukraine.”
Mazepin Jr. acquired his seat at Haas for the 2021 F1 season thanks to Uralkali’s sponsorship of the team and, in a statement on social media, said he was “very disappointed” with the decision to terminate his contract.
The EU document describes Dmitry as “the major sponsor of his son’s activities at Haas F1 Team.”
In a statement released on Wednesday, Uralkali described Haas’ decision to terminate their contract as “unreasonable” and said it would be claiming damages and seeking repayment for what it had paid to the team for the upcoming 2022 season.
“As most of the sponsorship funding for the 2022 season has already been transferred to Haas and given that the Team terminated the sponsorship agreement before the first race of the 2022 season, Haas has thus failed to perform its obligations to Uralkali for this year’s season,” the statement reads.
“Uralkali shall request the immediate reimbursement of the amounts received by Haas. 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 ‘We Compete As One’ fund was launched by Mazepin following his firing from Haas and aims to help other Russian athletes that have been excluded from their sports, starting with Russian Paralympic athletes sent home from the Beijing Games.
