Nikita Mazepin questions F1 ‘values’ and explains a potential return

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Nikita Mazepin has questioned the ‘values’ of Formula One while discussing a potential return to the sport.

The Russian’s position became increasingly uncertain following his country’s continued invasion of Ukraine, even after the FIA ruled that the 23-year-old would be allowed to continue racing under a neutral flag.

Mazepin’s father, Dmitry, a Russian oligarch who is the majority shareholder in chemical company Uralchem and one of Haas’ major sponsors, was pictured with Vladimir Putin as recently as January.

Haas removed Uralkali branding from its car during pre-season testing in Barcelona as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine accelerated and the team then confirmed they had terminated its contract with Mazepin and the company.

Opening up about the situation, Mazepin told Motorsport.com: “Everybody has a right to speak or not to speak and the FIA, the highest governing body, has enabled me to compete as long as I’m neutral.

“But I would say the biggest issue here is coming back to the sport where teams are allowed to be keeping sponsorship money without fulfilling the contract. And even asking for more, even though they say they don’t want money from Russia. So I’m not sure, but the sport’s values need to be evaluated for me after this.”

When asked if he will return to F1, he then went on to add: “It’s difficult to say at this moment in time, because I’m very wary that my issue is that I’ve lost a job.

“I was trying to get to F1 for 17 years and then I eventually got there. But it’s a very minor issue if you compare to the big things that are going on in the world right now.

“Of course, I would love to get back to the sport. I feel that I’ve got a lot of unfinished business there. But I need to wait until things cool down. And I don’t even know who I can get back to because, you know, Haas has obviously done what they did with playing not the cleanest game, in my opinion. But it’s different for me.”