HAAS Terminate Mazepin’s contract, Announce Fittipaldi as the replacement driver for Bahrain

As the world watched the horrific developments in the otherwise peaceful county of Ukraine, the Premier motorsports body, the FIA implemented new rules that banned the participation of Russian and Belarus nationals in the functions and participation of the sport.
Under these sanctions, the drivers were not allowed to race under the flags of their country but rather under the “FIA flag”, which was subject to specific commitment and adherence to the FIA’s principles of peace and political neutrality.

However as the violence continued, and following discussions with the British government and Motorsport UK they announced that no Russian or Belarusian licensed teams, competitors or officials will be allowed to enter or participate in sanctioned events in the UK.
This led to the Haas Team dropping Russian Driver Nikita Mazepin and his primary sponsor, Uralkali.

In the statement by the FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, he said, “As you know, the FIA is watching the developments in Ukraine with sadness and shock and I hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to the present situation. We condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine and our thoughts are with all those suffering as a result of the events in Ukraine.”

Following his axe from the team, this is what he had to say about the incident.
“ Dear fans and followers, I am very disappointed to hear that my F1 contract has been terminated. While I understand the difficulties, the ruling from the FIA plus my ongoing willingness to accept the conditions proposed to continue were completely ignored, and no process was followed in this unilateral step. To those who have tried to understand, my eternal thanks. I have treasured my time in F1 and genuinely hope we can all be together again in better times. I will have more to say in the coming days. Nikita. ”

Haas has just announced that it will be the reserve driver  Pietro Fittipaldi who will be in the pilot’s seat of the 2022 Haas Car at the Bahrain test. However, they have not yet decided who will take the seat for the whole season. 

With a sudden vacant F1 seat up for grabs, there have been rumours of the return of the silky haired Italian, Antonio Giovinazzi. Following his sudden exit from F1 at the end of last season, he never hid the fact that he would try his best to come back to the pinnacle of motorsports.