Ferrari’s Russian Sponsors situation unclear as Haas drop ‘Uralkali’ from livery ahead of F1 pre-season testing
Follow Us
Ahead of the third day of the Pre-season testing in Barcelona, the news broke out that Formula One will not be racing in Russia due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Haas F1, who are backed by Uralkali decided to cover liveries sporting the name of the Russian Fertilizer giant.
The American team were spotted with an All white livery instead of the Red, White and Blue colour scheme which was bizarrely close to the colours of the Russian tricolour. But this could be just a first step as teams and races with Russian Sponsors will have to sever ties after the recent incidents.
One such team is Ferrari which has a long-standing partnership with Russian multinational cybersecurity and anti-virus provider Kaspersky. Ferrari are yet to take a decision regarding the livery on the F1-75 featuring the logos of the Russian company.
Also Read: “All we can do is wait and see,” Mattia Binotto on…
“I haven’t seen Ferrari yet take their Russian sponsor off their car”
Ferrari have shared their partnership with Kaspersky since 2010. In 2021, Kaspersky Lab announced it had extended its 10-year partnership with Scuderia Ferrari and also become the brand’s Esports team partner. The Kaspersky logo has featured prominently on Ferrari cars over the years but questions are being raised.
Sky Sports F1 Pundit Ted Kravitz shared his opinion regarding the situation. ”I can understand why they stopped their car looking like a Russian flag, it was the pragmatic decision. What I can’t really understand is what is happening with the sponsor. Uralkali hasn’t been sanctioned yet as we know, and neither has Dmitri Mazepin has a person.”
“And I haven’t seen Ferrari yet take their Russian sponsor off their car as well. That raises questions to me over what is happening within this team – so that is a worrying sign,” said Kravitz. Since Russian President Putin declared the invasion of Ukraine, the US, the UK and allied countries have joined to declare hefty sanctions on Russia and Russian enterprises.
Kaspersky was alleged to have close ties to the Russian government by various western media outlets, and finally the US government itself. In 2017, President Trump signed legislation banning the software of Kaspersky on government computers. US government institutions were prohibited from buying and installing Kaspersky software on their computers and other devices.
Also Read: “It’s horrible to see what is happening,” Sebastian Vettel makes staunch…
Stay Updated!
Tejas Venkatesh
(366 Articles Published)