“What is happening now is painful,” Nikita Mazepin gives his take on Russia-Ukrainian conflict

“What is happening now is painful,” Nikita Mazepin gives his take on Russia-Ukrainian conflict

Haas' Russian driver Nikita Mazepin

Following Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, Haas F1 decided to terminate Nikita Mazepin’s contract ahead of the 2022 Formula One season. The American F1 team decided to sever ties with title sponsor Uralkali. Mazepin’s new foundation ‘We compete as one‘ serves athletes who were barred from sports due to political reasons.

Since being ousted from his Formula One seat, he has been very vocal against the decision and has threatened to seek legal action against Haas. The Former F1 driver established his new foundation ‘We compete as one focuses to serve athletes who were barred from sports due to political reasons.

The organisation will aid athletes and help them in finding jobs, legal aid, and psychological help. Mazepin believes it’s important for athletes and sports to remain neutral in such circumstances but is pained by the plight of Ukrainians suffering.

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Nikita Mazepin: “It is very important for me to be neutral as an athlete.”

Haas driver Nikita Mazepin
Haas driver Nikita Mazepin

Nikita Mazepin is the son of a Russian Oligarch, Dimitry Mazepin who is a confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He believes the sanctions imposed on athletes are unfair but denied making any comments on his country’s military escalation because of “tremendous risks in saying anything.”

Mazepin responded, “What is happening right now – and I see only a small part of it from Moscow – is very painful in my opinion. I have lived in a very peaceful world for 23 years. But regarding my official position, I have said before that it is very important for me to be neutral as an athlete. That’s why I created a foundation to help athletes remain basically neutral.”

Recently, Italian authorities seized the properties worth nearly 105 million Euros of Nikita Mazepin and his father’s name. Haas has released a statement rejecting the company’s payback demands. The team demand $8.6million from the Russian company as a “loss of profit” fee and shall not give Mazepin his 2021 car and pay his 2022 salary unless agreed.

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