“There was no answer”– Nikita Mazepin had no answer when asked about his father’s influence in Russia

Nikita Mazepin fell short of an answer when asked about his father’s influence on Russia as he is among the highly powerful oligarchs.

Nikita Mazepin found his way in F1 with the support of his father’s money. But now, Haas is also following suit of boycotting Russian corporations. Thus, Mazepin got to swallow a hard pill as he got sacked by Haas.

On Saturday, Haas released a statement that they are parting ways with both Uralkali and Mazepin amidst the disturbance in Ukraine. According to Mazepin’s response on Wednesday, the Russian race driver had no idea that he would be sacked.

He got to know about his termination through Haas’ press statement. He objects to the decision taken by the American F1 team, and with Uralkali supports the retrieval of sponsorship money they gave.

However, The Russian was asked about his claimed neutrality in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. He was quizzed how he could be neutral when his father is among the oligarchs in Russia.

According to the source, Mazepin had no response to it. There is no secret about Mazepin’s father- Dmitry Mazepin, and Russian President Vladamir Putin having close relations. The two have often appeared together on several occasions.

Also read: Red Bull chief Helmut Marko praises F1 for taking a stand against Russia but insists Nikita Mazepin shouldn’t be removed based on his nationality

Nikita Mazepin to open foundation for Russian athletes

Uralkali reacting to its termination from Haas, has asked for a refund of their money. It seems like Haas already expected this from Uralkali, and the amount withdrawal would be made anytime soon.

Haas boss Guenther Steiner already claimed that they have finances to tolerate the money loss from Uralkali leaving. Meanwhile, the Russian company has announced they will be opening for the foundation for the athletes affected by the politics of this conflict.

The first bunch of athletes to get support will be the Russian Paralympians. The foundation would help them seek new jobs, legal aid and psychological help to tackle the recent hardships.

“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,” said the statement by Uralkali.

Meanwhile, Haas has not responded to the statements put by Uralkali so far. On the other hand, Mazepin, during his media reaction, claimed that he would try to return to F1 again. But has no desire to compete for Haas ever again.

Also read: Haas F1 team boss Guenther Steiner claims they will be alright without Uralkali