“Tell your President that,” Ralf Schumacher targets Russia in his reply to a comment that says Max Verstappen’s F1 title is “not valid”

“Tell your President that,” Ralf Schumacher targets Russia in his reply to a comment that says Max Verstappen’s F1 title is “not valid”

Ralf Schumacher

Russia’s involvement in Formula 1 has been a much-debated topic ever since Haas made the sudden announcement about dropping Nikita Mazepin and Uralkali ahead of the 2022 season. The American company, which has suffered some severe economic crunch, bid adieu to their Russian sponsor Uralkali, a fertilizer-producing company, as a part of their protest against Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine invasion. Haas also relieved Nikita Mazepin of his duties as their regular racer after only one year of his service because of the same reason, and they took up Kevin Magnussen in his place.

Now, former Russian racer Vitaly Petrov has sparked some controversy thanks to his comments on most of the international sports franchises banning his country. He has previously been attached to Renault and Caterham and is the first Russian to take part in Formula 1. But now, his country’s racers are not allowed to take part in the elite class of motorsports, and he has released a statement addressing the same. He claimed any Championship taking place without participation from Russia is “not valid”.

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If Vitaly Petrov’s comments are to be considered, then Max Verstappen‘s 2022 F1 racing title, which he won by a huge margin over his closest rival Charles Leclerc, is not even valid. Now, Verstappen’s 2021 Championship win has already been the centre of some massive controversies that even result in Michael Masi losing his job as the F1 Race Director, and now the Dutchman’s latest title victory has attracted some scrutiny as well. But F1 commentator Ralf Schumacher has a curt reply to Petrov’s “not valid” claim that targets the Russian President.

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Ralf Schumacher takes a dig at the Russian administration while replying to Vitaly Petrov’s claims

Ralf Schumacher

When it comes to Formula 1, Ralf Schumacher has never been known as the one to hold it back. Even now, he has made the headlines with his bold reply to Vitaly Petrov claiming that the 2022 F1 Championship was “not valid” as it lacked Russian participation. Vitaly’s exact words were, “Without Russia, I don’t consider a single champion or Olympic title to be valid.” To this, Ralf has said, “Better tell your President that! He can change it.” It was quite clear that the German meant the Russian President Vladimir Putin could stop their war against Ukraine for his country to be included in all sports Championships once again.

Going into the 2023 F1 season, Robert Schwartzman is the only racer with some Russian ancestry who is still employed under Ferrari. But he will not be making any appearances in the races. On the other hand, Nikita Mazepin has said goodbye to Formula 1 for good, and he recently teased a comeback to international racing which might happen sometime in the near future.

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