The sporting world is taking a stand following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Football’s Champions League final has been moved from Saint Petersburg to Paris, while the country has also been stripped of international badminton, swimming and karate events.
Fifa and Uefa went one further yesterday as they also suspended all Russian teams from international football competition with calls now for the FIA to do the same.
For now, the 2022 Rusin Grand Prix has been called off. Even if the press release worded it cautiously. For legal reasons, Formula 1 cannot simply cancel the race and nominate an alternative date at this point in time. That would represent a breach of contract. When the time comes, force majeure (a clause that is included in contracts to remove liability for natural and unavoidable catastrophes that interrupt the expected course of events and prevent participants from fulfilling obligations) can still be invoked.
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Haas now has a lot of free space on the car. That would be a good opportunity to buy a sponsorship spot for reasonable money. The team is not in danger. If necessary, team owner Gene Haas will cover the financial gap. For now, Nikita Mazepin is still officially a Haas driver: since part of the sponsorship money has already been used, the Russian should stay on board on paper for the time being.
For Nikita Mazepin things will become critical when certain countries refuse him entry. Or when the FIA bans Russian drivers from participating in international events. Possible replacement drivers? Scuderia Ferrari will favor Antonio Giovinazzi. Nico Hülkenberg and the new superstar Oscar Piastri are under contract elsewhere. Team boss Guenther Steiner doesn’t have a lot of choices.
According to Scuderia Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto, Ferrari sponsor Kaspersky remains on the car and the multi-year partnership agreement between Kaspersky and Ferrari will continue despite Russia is pressing on with its invasion of Ukraine: “Kaspersky is a global company.” – the Maranello team explains. In fact, a subsidiary of the IT security company is registered in London.
