While Haas is looking into his relationship with Russian title sponsor Uralkali and it remains unclear whether they will continue working together amid the ongoing Ukraine crisis, Nikita Mazepin’s Formula 1 future is also at stake.
The Russian joined Haas alongside Uralkali in the 2021 Formula 1 season. His father, the Russian oligarch Dmitri Mazepin, is a co-owner of Uralkali and has generously funded his son’s racing career from the start.
With Russia invading Ukraine, Haas took to the track without the Uralkali branding and livery on Friday, the final day of testing in Barcelona. Mazepin took part in the morning session as planned, but team boss Günther Steiner admitted the Russian’s future “needs to be clarified”.
Should Mazepin fail, a replacement would be provided quickly, as Steiner emphasized in an interview with “Speed City Broadcasting”. The team would fall back on reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi: “If for one reason or another Nikita couldn’t drive, the first call would go to Pietro.”
Steiner: “Pietro knows the team and the car”
“He’s been with us for a couple of years and then we would see what we do next,” Steiner said. Fittipaldi has been associated with Haas since fall 2018, participated in the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi that same year and served as test driver in 2019.
In the past two years he has been on site at most races to be able to step in if one of the regular drivers gets infected or injured with the corona virus. At the end of 2020 he replaced Romain Grosjean after his fire accident and contested the last two races of the season in Sachir and Abu Dhabi.
Most recently, Fittipaldi drove the Haas VF-21 during post-season testing in Abu Dhabi. “He knows the team, he knows the car that he can jump into from one day to the next. At the moment there is no one better than Pietro,” said Steiner.
Mazepin: “I have no control over many things”
Mazepin, whose media appearances were recently canceled, wrote on his social media profiles on Friday: “To my fans and followers – it is a difficult time and I have no control over much of what is said and done.”
“I have decided to focus on what I CAN control by working hard and doing my best for my Haas team. I really appreciate your understanding and support.” By the evening, the post had received more than 38,000 likes on Twitter.
Steiner conceded that “not everything is up to us” when discussing Mazepin’s future with the team. “Governments are involved and I have no power over them. We also have to see how the situation in Ukraine develops.”