Uralkali warned the Haas F1 team in 2021 that it will pull funding following an internal fall-out over Nikita Mazepin and his car.
In 2021, the owner of Uralkali, Dmitry Mazepin warned the team that he would pull off the funding. He did so following an internal fallout over the difference between the cars of Nikita Mazepin and his teammate Mick Schumacher.
Mazepin Senior had threatened to do so if the team does not switch the chassis between his son(Nikita) and Schumacher. This has been revealed in Netflix’s Drive to Survive which is due to release next week.
After Schumacher continuously outperformed Mazepin in races, the latter and his father raised doubts over the chassis.
It’s the same car
Despite what Mazepin and his father believed, the team principal Guenther Steiner said, “it’s the same car. As much as you believe it’s not, it’s the same car.”
However, Mazepin Senior did not seem to be convinced by that. He told the team’s advisor Jesper Carlsen that he would pull the funding.
Dmitry Mazepin warned: “If it doesn’t change, I will send an official letter that we stop financing and stop racing.”
He went on to say that it will be a huge problem without money. Mazepin argued that everybody knows that someone has an advantage and the team has to change it. It is not going to be ‘let’s do, let’s do, let’s try, let’s try.”
He explained that they have already tried for three races and if the funding is removed, there will be no more racing.
Also Read: Nikita Mazepin will not be allowed to participate in the British GP following Motorsport UK decision
Nikita Mazepin publicly said the chassis was heavier
After Mazepin drove in Austria last year he made public comments about the chassis of his car being heavier than his teammate. He was given a new chassis for the second half of the season beginning from the Belgian Grand Prix.
Steiner later confirmed that one of the chassis was heavier than the other. However, he made it clear that it was being rotated among the drivers.
Asked if he was worried that Mazepin would remove the funding, Steiner said, “I don’t want to go there on an interview.”
🚨| Haas have decided that Nikita Mazepin will not continue with the team, with Pietro Fittipaldi stepping in to replace him. The official announcement is expected soon, as the Brazilian will also be behind the wheel for the Bahrain pre season testing. #f1zone
— F1 Zone (@FormulaOneZone) March 3, 2022
For the 2022 season, Haas has presented its new car. However, it had to remove the Uralkali branding from the car following the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Amidst the conflict, there is a chance that Haas will need to part ways with the Russian company. However, nothing is confirmed yet.
Also Read: Mick Schumacher thinks that Uralkali will no longer be the title sponsor for Haas
