Former Haas F1 driver Nikita Mazepin says legal proceedings against former employers are in ‘full swing.
Nikita Mazepin joined Haas ahead of the 2021 F1 season. He joined after competing in the 2020 F2 championship and was paired with F2 champion Mick Schumacher.
Mazepin had a difficult season in F1 scoring 0 points in his debut campaign. He never made it to Q2 in any of the rounds and was plagued by the slow pace and multiple driver errors.
Mazepin was contracted to Haas for the 2022 season. But in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Haas terminated Mazepin’s contract with the team replacing him with Kevin Magnussen.
The team also severed tied with Russian Fertilizer giant and title sponsor, Uralkali. This company is owned by Nikita’s father Dimitry Mazepin.
Mazepin has since filed a lawsuit against Haas for not returning the sponsorship amount. The Russian says Haas must return $13 Million due to wrongful termination of the contract.
Recently, Mazepin gave an update regarding the lawsuit against his former team. He claims the legal proceedings are in ‘full swing’ and that the lawsuit had been “accepted”.
He claimed, “In the near future, we will know exactly when and where the hearings will take place.” Mazepin has given Haas 30 days to clear the pending fee.
Haas have demanded $8.6 Million from Uralkali as compensation for their losses. And they will not pay Mazepin his remaining salary or provide Mazepin with his VF-2021 unless it’s paid.
Why was Nikita Mazepin’s contract terminated?
Nikita Mazepin and his father Dimitry have close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Hence Haas chose to terminate his contract and their sponsorship with Uralkali.
Mazepin condemned the move to terminate his contract. He questioned the ‘cancel culture’ against his country and said that F1 and sports must not interfere with politics.
Following Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, many authorities placed sanctions on Russia. F1 and FIA banned Russian and Belarusian entrants and says they can participate only under a neutral flag. The Russian GP too was taken off the F1 calendar and its contract was terminated.
He established a foundation to help excluded athletes as a result. It aims to provide financial and non-financial, to athletes who cannot compete due to political issues.
He spends his time Rallying and has recently won the Silk Way Rally, Mazepin says he still wishes to return to F1 but will not conceal his national identity, unlike many other drivers.
Also Read: F1 twitter reacts to Nikita Mazepin’s first race win in 2022
