Laci Perenyi / imago images
Keeping all options open: Nikita Masepin
Last Saturday, due to the war in Ukraine, the US Haas F1 team decided to terminate the partnership with its sponsor Uralkali and the contract with its Russian driver Nikita Masepin with immediate effect. Masepin’s father Dmitri is the majority shareholder in the Russian mining company. The billionaire’s son Nikita Masepin has now taken a stand after being kicked out of the Haas racing team: “I lost my dream, which I fought for 18 years of my life,” he said on Wednesday: “I don’t think that’s fair.” Before the start of the final test drives in Bahrain, where the Formula 1 season opener will take place on March 20, the 23-year-old racing driver sat in Moscow and presented his view of things in a one-hour video meeting. »Do we want the sport to be just another stage for protests and political debates? Or is sport an opportunity to connect people in the most difficult times?” Masepin asked, comparing his expulsion to the Olympic boycotts of the 1980s.
In fact, despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FIA had allowed Russian drivers to compete in FIA competitions such as the Formula 1 World Championship as neutral athletes, but on the condition that “they expressly committed themselves to upholding the FIA principles of peace and commit to political neutrality”. The British Automobile Association, on the other hand, issued a complete ban on participation for teams, drivers and officials from Russia and Belarus. A start for Masepin in the tenth race of the season at Silverstone on July 3 at the latest would have been impossible even without the separation from the Haas F1 team. Masepin accused Haas team boss Günther Steiner of insincerity. He only found out about his termination without warning by publishing the decision last Saturday. Since then there has been no contact with Steiner. Masepin does not see a basis for his dismissal, so he does not rule out legal action: “We are keeping all options open,” he said, referring to the decision of the world association FIA that the Russian and Belarusian drivers start under a neutral FIA -flag still allowed.
Masepin commented only briefly on the war in Ukraine and denied the West the sovereignty of interpretation. “Those who don’t live in this part of the world or weren’t born here” see only part of the conflict. People from Russia and Ukraine understand him on many more levels. He has clear ideas about his future. “The Formula 1 chapter is not over for me,” said Masepin, who only ruled out a return to Haas. He also announced the creation of a foundation. This is intended to support athletes who “for political reasons and through no fault of their own have lost the opportunity to compete at the highest level”.