Formula 1: Nikita Mazepin may have driven his final race

Haas Formula 1 driver Nikita Mazepin may very well have competed in his final Formula 1 race amid talks of the team cutting ties with Uralkali.

Amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a lot of talk within the Formula 1 paddock during preseason testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has centered around the possibility of Formula 1 dropping the Russian Grand Prix from this year’s record-breaking 23-race calendar.

The race was not scheduled to take place at Sochi Autodrom until late September, but several drivers spoke up against the sport racing there, with several even indicating that they would boycott the race if it went ahead.

The race did end up being canceled, though no replacement has been announced.

But an even more imminent issue is the future of the Haas Formula 1 team, which have been sponsored by Russian fertilizer company Uralkali since last year. Russian billionaire Dmitry Mazepin owns Uralkali, and his son Nikita is one of the team’s two drivers, along with Mick Schumacher.

It is very possible that Mazepin and Uralkali have already competed with Haas for the final time.

According to RACER’s Chris Medland, Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has revealed that the team will be looking to figure out whether or not Uralkali and Mazepin have a place in the team’s future next week.

Naturally, given the company’s contract with the team, there are legal issues that will need to be thoroughly looked at before any final decisions are made.

This news comes after the Haas team completely scrapped all Uralkali branding ahead of the third and final day of this week’s test session. Interestingly enough, it does appear as though Haas could continue to compete in Formula 1 without Uralkali as their title sponsors.

Uralkali would become the second title sponsor to cut ties with the team due to a controversial situation in the last three years, with Haas dropping Rich Energy during the 2019 season as a result of a bizarre sequence of events that took place during that summer.

Should Mazepin have driven his final Formula 1 race, the immediate focus would not only turn to who, if anybody, could replace Uralkali as the team’s title sponsor, but who could replace the 22-year-old Russian alongside Schumacher in the other VF-22.

Another preseason test session is scheduled to take place at Bahrain International Circuit from Thursday, March 10 to Saturday, March 12, and the 2022 season is scheduled to get underway at the same venue on Sunday, March 20. That doesn’t really give anybody much time with which to work.