Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Haas cancelled its sponsorship agreement with Uralkali and cut ties with Mazepin.
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Ex Haas driver Nikita Mazepin is suing the constructor for allegedly failing to meet its financial obligations to him. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Haas cancelled its sponsorship agreement with Uralkali and cut ties with Mazepin, whose father, tycoon Dmitry Mazepin, owns a majority stake in the chemical giant. Uralkali demanded that Haas reimburse USD 13 million in sponsorship funds received by the American team from its Russian partner immediately after the arrangement between the two sides was terminated.
In addition to rejecting that claim, Haas is suing Uralkali for USD 8.6 million in “loss of revenues,” and the case is still pending. According to Championat.com, Mazepin also wants his day in court with his old team, as he indicated to Russian media. The Russian made it clear that his legal battle with Haas is separate from Uralkali’s own legal battle with the Formula One team.
“At the termination of the contract Haas had a salary debt to me for this year,” said the 23-year-old. “And they still haven’t paid it. It seems to me that the employer should at least compensate the salary until the moment of termination and probably pay some severance pay. And when the whole world kicks you somewhere…that’s probably wrong. But that’s just my opinion.”
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“I’m just talking about the fact that the contractual obligations were not met, that’s one,” he added. “You also have to understand that we had two independent contracts. And the breakdown of the agreement with the title sponsor (Uralkali) had no direct impact on my future in the team. That is, they made two separate decisions. I have not seen my money, that is why we are going to court. This is my personal story. Documents have already been filed with the court.”
The pair were teammates at Haas during their debut F1 seasons in 2021, and their friendship was as frigid as the winter in Mazepin’s birthplace. Mazepin, who, like Schumacher, failed to earn a point in an uncompetitive vehicle previous year, was sacked from the team owing to events in Eastern Europe, and was replaced by Kevin Magnussen, who returned to Haas after a year away from F1. Despite the fact that Schumacher has the better continuity, having been with the squad since last season, he has been outpaced by the Dane, who has scored all 15 of the team’s points thus far.
Furthermore, the German has suffered high-profile accidents in Saudi Arabia, Miami, and Monaco, which have cost the team enormous repair fees and have left team principal Guenther Steiner asking “how we move forward from here,” remarks that were stated in a press statement. Nikita Mazepin has turned down the opportunity to publicly support his troubled former Haas teammate, Mick Schumacher.
