Banned Russian ex-F1 racer moves to Federal Court with charges against Canada for ‘catastrophically hindering’ his career
Nikita Mazepin has moved to court with his complaint against the Canadian government issuing sanctions against him.
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Just before the start of the 2022 F1 season, a surprise update from Haas revealed that their recruit for only a year, Nikita Mazepin, was being relieved of his duties at the American squad. Later, it came to be known that Haas took the step because of the team’s policies to severe ties with their Russian associates amidst the Ukraine-Russia war. After that, Mazepin’s name came up in the news only when he threatened to press charges against Guenther Steiner‘s team on grounds of not paying him the promised sum of money after his dismissal.
Now, it has been months since Mazepin’s name came up in F1 town, and the Russian is back with another lawsuit for the Canadian administration. As per the latest reports, Nikita Mazepin has decided to take Canada to court, claiming that their government has imposed some sanctions against him for being Russian amidst Ukraine’s invasion by President Vladimir Putin, and these are hurting. Mazepin has said in his deposition that Canada’s restrictions against hiring him has unfairly harmed his career as he cannot establish himself as a racecar driver there.
Thus, Mazepin now wants the Federal Court to pass a verdict in his favor so that the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, takes fast steps to remove his name from their sanctions list. Mazepin even gave a deadline, saying that he has to be removed from the restricted list within the next five days. Not only this, Nikita Mazepin has also requested for interim relief from Canada’s lawmakers so that he can participate in racing activities in the country immediately.
Nikita Mazepin is in no way involved in the Russian aggression: claims his application
It all started when Canada included 14 people that they considered as Russian oligarchs, including Nikita Mazepin and his father, Dmitry Mazepin, in their list of sanctions considering Putin’s attack on Ukraine in the background. But Nikita has challenged this decision, claiming that he is a “young sportsman and professional motorsport driver who is in no way involved in the aggression suffered by Ukraine.” His notice also mentioned F1 as it said the Canadian sanction is going to “catastrophically reduce” his eligibility to make a comeback to F1 next year.
No official comment could be obtained from the Canadian Ministry’s side on Nikita Mazepin’s application. But considering the fact that they have sanctioned many Russians ever since Moscow moved to attack Ukraine, chances for the emancipation of the former F1 driver seem quite bleak.
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Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)