German motor sports federation does exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes

The German Motorsportbund (DMSB) has announced that both Russian and Belarusian athletes will be excluded from German racing events. In doing so, the German federation is going a step further than the International federation, the FIA.

The German federation states on its website that with immediate effect all drivers and teams driving under the Russian or Belarusian flag will be excluded in all motorsport events organized in Germany. The DMSB indicates that it has reached this decision unanimously. With this statement, the federation also indicates that teams falling under the DMSB will not participate in events organized in Russia or Belarus.

For Formula 1, this has no further consequences. Mercedes as a team does not fall under this federation and neither do the drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher. F1, as part of the FIA, did draw up its own measures. For example, the premier class of motor sports will not be racing in Russia next September. Drivers of Russian or Belarusian descent will have to sign a special contract if they want to continue driving without the Russian flag.

The German federation goes a step further than the FIA with this statement. In fact, the International Federation has not proceeded to the complete elimination of Russian and Belarusian athletes. The DMSB also says it wants to work directly for the Ukrainians themselves. They are in contact with the Ukrainian motorsport federation to see how they can give shape to this. DMSB boss Wolfgang Wagner-Sachs says: "Sport is normally about building bridges, but in this extreme situation, caused by Russia, we need to send a clear signal to the aggressor."