Nikita Mazepin, the Formula 1 racing driver dropped from his team following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has turned to court to lift British sanctions, calling them “unlawful.”
(Bloomberg) — Nikita Mazepin, the Formula 1 racing driver dropped from his team following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has turned to court to lift British sanctions, calling them “unlawful.”
Mazepin, who was sanctioned last year alongside his father Dmitry, the founder of fertilizer maker UralChem JSC, wants to begin talks with F1 teams in an attempt to restart racing for the 2024 season. He’d asked for an urgent court decision to get ahead of any negotiations, saying teams will be choosing new drivers over the summer.
“Any more prolonged break in his career would significantly reduce his ability to return to Formula 1 ever again,” Rachel Scott, one of his attorneys, said in court filings. The sanctions effectively ended his racing career because no team will take him as a test driver, reserve or full driver, Mazepin’s legal team argued.
Lawyers for the UK said that the case — one of the very earliest Russia-related sanctions challenges to get to court — is of national significance and there was nothing to prevent Mazepin from holding talks in the meantime. Mazepin has argued that the entire UK’s sanctions legislation underpinning his own designation is against the law.
Mazepin said that it was “vital” for drivers to work with engineering teams ahead of the season “for measurements to be taken for his car’s seat and cockpit control layout and driving practice.” He was dumped by the Haas team following the outbreak of the war and hasn’t driven since. Haas also ended its sponsorship with Uralkali PJSC, the Russian potash producer controlled by Mazepin’s father at the time.
Mazepin said he will be unable to hold any contract talks unless he’s free to travel to the UK. Seven out of the ten F1 teams are in Britain.
Read More: Meet the Fertilizer Tycoon at Core of Kremlin Grain Talks (2)
Dmitry Mazepin was one of the last few Russian businessmen to meet with Vladimir Putin before the invasion, according to the Kremlin website. The tycoon, whose fortune was estimated at $900 million in 2022 by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, had to give up control of UralChem and Uralkali PJSC after the sanctions hit.
A final court hearing is set to take place later in the summer.
(Updates with Mazepin’s lawyers on his racing career in third paragraph.)
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