Mazepin allowed to race again in Formula One; court lifts sanction
General
- GPblog.com
Nikita Mazepin was shown the door by Haas F1 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and was eventually even put on the sanctions list by the European Union. His father is an oligarch and allegedly has close ties with President Vladimir Putin. However, a court has now ruled that Nikita Mazepin was unfairly denied entry to the EU.
This automatically means that nothing stands in the way of Mazepin's return to Formula 1 anymore. The 24-year-old driver can travel to any country and thus negotiate a contract with teams. The court did state that he may not be assisted by his father, the owner of Uralkali.
Mazepin happy with decision
In a first reaction, Mazepin told AFP news agency: "I am very happy with the verdict, it gives me hope to continue my career in professional motorsport. I will give everything to make up for the lost year and practice the sport I love and am committed to."
The court's verdict states that Mazepin "as a professional athlete had always taken a neutral stance on the war". Furthermore, the Russian merely wanted "the opportunities to continue his career (...) without the financial support of his father".
However, it does not seem very likely that we will see Mazepin return to the king class of motorsport. Between 2020 and 2021, he did not manage to impress much at Haas.