Remarkable: Mazepin goes to court and targets F1 seat in 2024
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Nikita Mazepin has taken Canada to court. The Russian driver is on Canada's sanctions list and therefore not allowed to participate in any races in the country. According to Mazepin, this "catastrophically reduces" his chances of getting a seat in Formula 1 in 2024, which is why he is going to court.
Mazepin got a seat at Haas in 2021 and had a disappointing season there. Despite this disappointing season, he remained a Haas driver in 2022, probably because his father was a major sponsor of the US team. This all changed when Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022.
Mazepin steps to court
Because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Mazepin lost his seat and his father was also no longer a sponsor of Haas. Mazepin and his father are on the Canadian sanctions list because they are considered oligarchs, family members or close associates of the Russian regime. As a result, the young driver is not allowed to participate in any racing events in Canada.
According to the Russian driver, these sanctions unfairly harm his career, which is why he is taking the matter to court, reports CTV News. The Russian wants to be removed from the sanctions list. His request states that he is a "young sportsman and professional motorsport driver who is in no way involved in the aggression suffered by Ukraine".
Case is 'urgent'
According to the former Haas driver, negotiations around F1 seats in 2024 start soon and the current Canadian sanctions, according to him, 'catastrophically reduce' his chances of getting a seat in 2024. As negotiations are already imminent, the Russian calls the matter 'urgent' in his application to the court.