“Haas will unveil its pure white car without Uralkali branding on the third and final day of testing at Catalunya on Friday 25 February. Nikita Mazepin will drive as scheduled in the morning session and in the afternoon he will be replaced by Mick Schumacher,” the team said.
Gunther Steiner, head of the Haas team sponsored by Russian billionaire Dmitry Mazepin, was excluded from media activities on Thursday. Officially, it was announced that it would not be available to journalists.
Similarly, Nikita Mazepin, the team driver, and privately the son of the team sponsor, was withdrawn. He himself is forbidden to use the Russian flag during races due to the decision of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could not go unnoticed among F1 drivers. Sebastian Vettel is the chairman of the GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers Association) and due to the fact that he is holding this position, he was asked about the opinion of drivers about the Russian Grand Prix. – I cannot speak for GPDA because we did not talk about it. I, on the other hand, when I woke up and saw what was happening, I was shocked. I am sad and shocked. So many innocent people die for stupid reasons. We have a race in Russia. Personally, I would not go, I will not. My opinion is that racing there would be bad. I have already made my decision – declared the former four-time world champion.
His colleagues were asked a similar question but were not as determined. – I don’t have enough information so it’s hard for me to talk about it. I believe F1 will make the right decision – said Charles Leclerc.
“When a country is at war, you wouldn’t really want to race there,” said Max Verstappen, but he didn’t make any declarations.
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