Formula 1: 3 offseason stories that repeated from last year
By Asher Fair
Formula 1 offseason storylines: No. 2 – Nikita Mazepin fired?
Unlike storyline number one involving Lewis Hamilton, this one had a different outcome. But in both 2021 and 2022, there were rumors that Nikita Mazepin would be fired before the season began.
Russian fertilizer Uralkali signed as the title sponsor of Haas for the 2021 season. Nikita’s father, Dmitry, is the CEO of Uralchem, which holds a controlling stake in Uralkali, and he has direct ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Last offseason, Mazepin found himself in hot water when he posted a video to his Instagram story of himself groping a woman, leading to the #WeSayNoToMazepin campaign to urge Haas to remove both him and Uralkali from the team before they could ever truly get started.
Despite the fact that the woman came to Mazepin’s defense, she went on to unfollow the 22-year-old Russian on social media and post a number of cryptic messages, raising some other key questions about why she may have come to his defense. Not surprisingly, Mazepin ended up being allowed to stay with Haas for his rookie season in 2021.
But in 2022, things played out differently.
During preseason testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Haas stripped all Russian/Uralkali branding from their cars and pretty much everything to do with the team, prompting rumors that they could cut ties with Uralkali and the Mazepin family for good.
They did just that ahead of the 2022 season, confirming Kevin Magnussen, whom Mazepin ironically replaced ahead of the 2021 season, as his replacement alongside Mick Schumacher.