When we look at the sad events involving Russia and Ukraine in recent days, undoubtedly it’s difficult to focus on the world of Formula 1. Yet, even if we try to look away from these vicissitudes, we realize that in an increasingly interconnected world the crisis of Eastern Europe also reverberates its effects on the sports world, including Formula 1.
The first team to move in this direction was undoubtedly Haas; in fact, a few days before the European sanctions were confirmed, Haas decided to remove the sponsor Uralkali and the colors of the Russian flag from its livery; the following day, Nikita Mazepin did take part in the Spanish testing sessio, but Günther Steiner later admitted with his usual frankness that the participation of the Russian driver in the championship would not be guaranteed. One wonders if the survival of the American team is also safe, given it is unlikely that the commercial sponsorship agreements provided for the entire payment of the consideration already for the pre-season tests (and the immediate suspension of the driver, even in the absence of FIA provisions, provides us with more than a few clues).
The Haas decisions were followed by the FIA sanctions, which, at first, canceled the Sochi GP and, subsequently, confirmed the possibility of Russian drivers to participate in the competitions, even in the absence of a flag and national anthem (despite the fact that this most likely will not be the final decision of the sporting authorities and we indeed expect a tightening of the sanctions).
The spotlight now seems to have turned to Ferrari and its sponsorship with Kaspersky, the well-known Russian company that deals with cyber-security (it seems an ironic oxymoron, especially if you think about the leaks accused by the Scuderia in recent years). The situation is not yet well defined, even if a certain serenity emerges from the first statements of team principal Mattia Binotto, given the globalized and international nature of the company.
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The situation is far from clear, without considering that much more burning topics have not yet been touched, such as, for example, the multimillion-dollar sponsorships that the Sochi Grand Prix could have guaranteed and Russian TV rights. This was pointed out by Bernie Ecclestone who, with at least anachronistic statements, labeled the decisions of Liberty Media-FIA as reckless, highlighting that it is not the Russian drivers who decide the fate of the war conflict. Well, applying the same reasoning as the old Bernie we could reflect on the fact that not even the Ukrainian citizens have chosen to be bombed… but let’s refrain, at least here, from political reflections.
The teams are already heading to Bahrain for the second pre-season testing session and the championship is upon us: let us hope the focus will soon return on discussing the about the technical war between teams, conflicts over regulation loopholes and the on track battles between the drivers. This alone should be the main focus when looking at F1.
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