“Losing Nikita Mazepin will not be too damaging for Haas,” F1 analyst on the Russian driver’s sacking


“Losing Nikita Mazepin will not be too damaging for Haas,” F1 analyst on the Russian driver’s sacking

New Haas car

Nikita Mazepin has been axed by the Haas F1 team after the growing pressure on the team because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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It has been stated in Planetf1 that the Haas F1 team has sacked both Nikita Mazepin and their Russian sponsor, UralKali, following the condemnable actions of Russia.

F1 team Haas
F1 team Haas

Nikita Mazepin’s seat at the team was very much linked to UralKali’s ability to sponsor the team and ever since that partnership came to an end, the American team has gone forth and decided to end Nikita’s contract with the team as well.

The American F1 team owner Gene Haas also recently indicated that the pressure on the team to cut ties with UralKali was immense, “not deal with all that, our other sponsors can’t deal with all that”, Mazepin was also out.”

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Jake Kemp a sports analyst at Globaldata said, “One of the most impacted teams is Haas.”

Haas' Russian driver Nikita Mazepin
Haas’ Russian driver Nikita Mazepin

While the loss of Russian driver Nikita Mazepin will not be too damaging – Mazepin was consistently outperformed by his German team-mate in 2021, only out-qualifying Mick Schumacher at two Grand Prix, and losing to him in races on 16 occasions — the team’s termination of a sponsorship partnership with Uralkali will hit hard.”

Haas losing a big chunk of money ahead of the 2022 F1 season

This $10-million-a-year deal had a major influence on the team’s ability to compete in 2021, representing a significant chunk of the estimated $43.65 million generated in sponsorship by the team during the 2021 season.”

The loss also pushes Haas back to 13 major brand partners for the 2022 season, putting them alongside Scuderia AlphaTauri as the team with the fewest sponsors in the sport.”

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Haas
Haas

Haas has been fighting at the back of the grid for the past few seasons, so losing a significant financial contributor will hurt its efforts in the sport this year and likely see it fighting at the back of the grid again.”

The 2022 campaign for the Haas F1 team could again prove to be a painful one given they have lost one of their major sponsors and also they would have to find a new driver before the start of the 2022 season, which is just a few days away.

Moreover, they could be asked to change the color scheme on their car, “Further ramifications for could include a color design overhaul of the new 2022 livery, as the Russian colors were previously attributed to the team on the back of the team’s association with Uralkali

Lewis Hamilton and Nikita Mazepin
Lewis Hamilton and Nikita Mazepin

The team has got a lot to do and very little time to do it in, considering that tomorrow is the second testing, the American team has to come up with solutions fast.

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