Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has opened up on how he had no hesitation in urging his board to terminate Nikita Mazepin’s contract as soon as Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine last year.
Putin called for a ‘special military operation’ on February 24, just a few days before the 2022 season began. As soon as Putin made this call, there was no doubt that the focus would shift to Mazepin. Nikita is not only Russian but his father, Dmitry Mazepin, is an individual who has close ties with Putin.
Hence, before the media and everyone else pressurized Haas into taking action against Mazepin and Russian sponsor Urakali, Steiner thought it was best to take a call himself. The American team would eventually terminate the 23-year-old’s contract and replace him with Kevin Magnussen.
Guenther Steiner terminated Nikita Mazepin’s contract without hesitation
In his new diary book, Surviving to Drive, which will be released later this week, Guenther Steiner revealed the difficult conversation he had to have with Nikita Mazepin after the news was released that Russia had invaded Ukraine.
The 58-year-old stated that since he knew Nikita’s father, Dmitry, was close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, he was clear that he did not want his team to be associated with an individual who began a ‘****ing war’. Hence, he made it clear to Nikita that his team would part ways with him.
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Steiner then went on to state what he told his side at the team meeting. “Drop the Uralkali branding”, he said. “Change the livery to write and tell the whole f***ing world that is what we have done. Every single board member agreed with me and so the meeting was over in a couple of minutes”.
The Italian-American concluded his remarks by stating that he did not want to be ‘crucified’ by retaining Urakali as a sponsor. “If we retained Uralkali as a sponsor and had them on our livery we’d be crucified by the media, the fans, and the FIA. It would be suicide and I’ve got enough on my plate,” he explained.
Haas’ 2023 season gets off to a decent start
After a tumultuous 2022 season, beginning with the axing of Nikita Mazepin, Haas seems to have begun their 2023 campaign decently. The team has scored seven points so far and currently finds themselves seventh in the championship, a point behind Alpine and five behind McLaren.
When it comes to the drivers, Kevin Magnussen scored Haas’ first points in Saudi Arabia by finishing tenth. On the other hand, Nico Hulkenberg scored six points by finishing a brilliant seventh in Australia.
