Before everyone knew it, former Haas driver Nikita Mazepin became something of a part of history in Formula 1. He began his F1 journey with the Force India team as their test driver. After a failed attempt by his father, Russian millionaire businessman Dmitry Mazepin to buy the team.
He joined the American team Haas for the 2021 season. This happened when Dmitry offered sponsorship to them when they were on the verge of running out of finances.
Haas made the decision to part ways with Nikita Mazepin in the days prior to the 2022 season, succeeded by Kevin Magnussen to drive alongside Mick Schumacher.
This choice came about in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which in turn caused Haas and Uralkali, the business founded by Mazepin’s father, to end their title sponsorship agreement. Despite the outcry surrounding the Ukraine situation, Mazepin has strangely mostly avoided discussing it in public.
đź“°: After losing his F1 seat over sanctions, Nikita Mazepin is back in the EU for training after 600 days. The Russian driver, criticized and nicknamed ‘Mazespin,’ can now enter the EU following a European court decision. While it’s unlikely he’ll return to F1, he’s focused on… pic.twitter.com/oaOAwz7HlT
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However, the Russian driver has shown interest in getting back to the motorsport arena. He said, “It’s been nearly 600 days since my last trip to Europe for F1 tests in Barcelona. Of course, none of this helps the development of a sporting career, when you can’t move around freely and participate in negotiations. I won’t stop working on behalf of all canceled athletes either, including myself.” Given this remark, it will be interesting to see exactly how Mazepin gets his way into F1.
Nikita Mazepin took the entire country of Canada to court
The former driver is currently in a legal battle against the government of Canada in a strong bid to make a comeback in Formula 1. Mazepin inadvertently found himself on Canada’s blacklist of those liable for sanctions in May 2022, following the Ukrainian invasion.
His father, Dmitry, and Roman Abramovich, a previous owner of the Chelsea football team, were among the people on this list who had been considered to be linked to Vladimir Putin.
Nikita Mazepin is attempting a return to racing đź‘€ #f1 #formula1 #f1news #nikitamazepin #fanamp pic.twitter.com/dQAqpgi9DB
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In order to launch his second stint behind the wheel in F1, Mazepin is now requesting Canada’s Federal Court to step in and push Melanie Joly, the minister of foreign affairs, to lift his sanctions. He remains adamant on the matter and is seeking a temporary injunction to get his racing rights back in Canada while being banned from almost all of Europe.
His time in Haas was infamous as it was marred with poor performance, Mazepin ended his professional career in the sport behind the pack. As stated in the legal papers, these penalties substantially reduced his chances of making an instant comeback to Formula 1.
This is crucial since the Canadian Grand Prix is going to continue to be on the Formula 1 schedule at least through 2031.