Ukrainian motor sport authority calls on FIA to ban Russian drivers

F1

Ukraine's motor sport federation has called on the FIA to impose a raft of sanctions on Russian motor sport activities, including banning drivers

Nikita Mazepin

Mazepin's future at Haas is looking increasingly uncertain

Haas

Author

James Elson

Amid the continued invasion of Ukraine by Russia and escalating ensuing conflict, the Ukrainian Motor Sport Federation has now called on the FIA to ban all Russian and Belarusian drivers from international racing events, as well as demanding a raft of other sanctions.

The FIA’s President Mohamed Ben Sulayem sent a letter of support to the Automobile Federation of Ukraine (FAU), stating “You can be assured of my full support and that of the FIA.”

F1 has already announced the cancellation of this year’s Russian Grand Prix, and Haas has removed its Russian sponsor Uralkali’s branding from its cars and motorhomes, but the FAU wants the FIA to do more.

Now in response to Sulayem’s letter, the Federation has sent and published a number of proposals, which includes drivers of Russian and Belarusian nationality who hold licenses issued by their respective federations not being allowed to run on events outside of their home country. The latter country has been used by Russia as a launch pad for some of its attacks.

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Mazepin’s future at Haas is now uncertain. The driver’s oligarch father Dmitry is a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin. His Uralkali firm gives title sponsorship to Haas, but with the American team removing all branding and running in a plain white livery on the last day of testing last week, it remains unclear how the relationship will proceed from here.

Other prominent Russian drivers include former Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat, who has signed to drive for countryman Roman Rusinov’s LMP2 G-Drive squad in WEC this year.

Haas team boss Guenther Steiner told Motor Sport that the team were just “focusing on the test” when asked about Mazepin’s future, also saying the outfit had removed the red, white and blue Russian sponsorship “out of respect”.

The FAU also proposes:

  • To ban the use of state symbols of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus during FIA-organised and FIA-sanctioned competitions
  • To prohibit the holding of FIA-organised and FIA-sanctioned competitions in the territories of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus
  • To prohibit the holding of RAF (Russian Automobile Federation)-organised and RAF-sanctioned competitions in the occupied territories of Ukraine
  • To expel all the members of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus from the FIA
  • To expel all the members representing the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus from FIA commissions

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