Nikita Mazepin hits out at Haas and sends message to his replacement

Nikita Mazepin has insisted that he was not given enough support by Haas in a scathing press conference after he was dropped by the American-owned team earlier this month. The 23-year-old, who hails from Moscow, drove for Haas in 2021 but was quickly relieved of his duties in advance of the new campaign in the wake of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Haas responded to the news of Russia’s military action by making the decision to terminate their lucrative sponsorship agreement with Russian potash firm Uralkali, which was largely responsible for Mazepin’s place on the grid.

The company is part-owned by Mazepin’s father, Dmitry, who funded his son’s F1 seat and was reportedly called into a Kremlin meeting with Vladimir Putin to discuss financial sanctions against Russia last month.

The team’s decision to end their partnership with Uralkali also saw Mazepin dropped as a result of the withdrawal of the funding required to maintain his position in F1.

He went on to criticise Haas in a press conference on Wednesday morning by accusing them of failing to support him and keeping him out of the loop with regards to whether or not he would be allowed to compete.

“I deserved more support from the team,” said Mazepin.

“There is no legal reason to terminate the contract. I was relieved to see that the FIA allowed us to start in neutral colours, I was hoping to drive.

“[But] everything changed and I lost the dream I had been working for for 18 years.”

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