‘I didn’t deserve it’: Nikita Mazepin opens up on F1 exit and slams Haas decision

Russian driver Nikita Mazepin claims he only discovered he had been dropped by Haas when the Formula One team released the press release of their decision to terminate his contract.

Mazepin was speaking at a press conference on Wednesday after Russian company Uralkali announced that they would be seeking a full refund from Haas after their title sponsorship was also cut ahead of the 2022 season.

Uralkali are owned by Mazepin’s father Dmitry, who is an associate of Vladimir Putin, and the company criticised Haas for making their decision based on “geopolitical reasons” in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The American team decided to cut ties with Mazepin and Uralkali even after the FIA announced that they would allow the 23-year-old to race under a neutral flag.

It has led to Mazepin announcing that he will set up a foundation to support athletes unable to compete in their sport because of “political reasons”. Mazepin said the foundation would be called ‘We Compete As One’ and Uralkali confirmed it would be funded by the money they will receive back from Haas.

Mazepin claimed he had agreed with Haas that he would race under a neutral flag only for the team to cancel his contract on Saturday. Mazepin was given his seat with Haas after Uralkali became the title sponsor of the team at the end of the 2020 season.

“I deserved more support from the team,” Mazepin said, according to a translation of his press conference on Wednesday morning. “I was relieved to see that the FIA allowed us to start in neutral colours. I was hoping to drive. Then everything changed and I lost the dream I had been working for for 18 years.

“I heard about my Haas sacking, like everyone else, from the press. I didn’t deserve it. I was very disappointed with how it played out. I hadn’t been worried since I left Barcelona [for the first round of pre-season testing].

“Formula One is not a closed chapter for me. I will be ready to race in case there is an opportunity to return. I wish all the best to the drivers who will replace me. They have nothing to do with the existing situation.”

Mazepin said his ‘We Compete As One’ foundation would offer financial support to athletes who are unable to compete in top-level sport because of their nationality. Sporting organisations such as Fifa and the International Olympic Committee have banned Russian athletes from competing in international events due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian said athletes are being unfairly punished, adding: “The decision from Haas was not based either on any directive from the sport’s governing body authority, or dictated by any sanctions that were placed against either me or my father, or his company. And, of course, I don’t feel this is fair.

“But there is something more important here. I ask the question, is there no place at all for neutrality in sports? Does an athlete have a right not to just an opinion, but to keep the opinion out of the public space? Should an athlete be punished for that? And do we want the sports to become just another public square for protests and political debate?”

Mazepin continued: “We all know that the career of an athlete is a short one, and that it requires years of intense sacrifice to perform at the highest level. When that final reward is taken away, it is devastating. And no one is thinking what happens next to these athletes. I will be addressing this.”

Uralkali released a statement shortly before Mazepin’s press conference in which they said Haas’ decision was “unreasonable” as they believe sport “should always be free of politics and pressure from external factors.”

They also threatened to take legal action if Haas did not repay the money, which they said would be sent to Mazepin’s foundation. Their statement read: “Uralkali intends to protect its interests in line with applicable legal procedures and reserves its rights to initiate judicial proceedings, claim damages and seek repayment of the significant amounts Uralkali had paid for the 2022 Formula One season.

“As most of the sponsorship funding for the 2022 season has already been transferred to Haas and given that the team terminated the sponsorship agreement before the first race of the 2022 season, Haas has thus failed to perform its obligations to Uralkali for this year’s season.

“Uralkali shall request the immediate reimbursement of the amounts received by Haas. 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.”