Russian drivers allowed to compete as neutrals
The FIA has announced that Russian and Belarusian drivers will be allowed to compete as neutral drivers following the invasion of Ukraine. The sport also confirmed this year’s Russian Grand Prix was cancelled because of “force majeure”.
President Mohammed ben Sulayem said the FIA “condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine”. The FIA said the decision was “in accordance with International Olympic Committee recommendations”.
However, on Tuesday the IOC called for Russian and Belarusian athletes to be prevented from competing in international events. An FIA spokesman said the organisation was “acting like FIFA, ITF, UCI… we ban national teams not athletes in foreign teams”.
While the decision permits Russian driver Nikita Mazepin to race in F1 this season with the Haas team. However, his father Dmitry who is the team’s major financial backer of the US-owned team is a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Haas removed the branding of title partner Uralkali for the final day of the pre-season test in Barcelona last week. A Haas spokesman said after the FIA statement: “At this time we decline to comment.”
There could still be doubts about wheatear Mazepin will be allowed to race, as countries place restrictions on Russians entering countries. Also, the US owed Haas team will want to distance themselves from Putin and Russia. The Russian has called for a peaceful solution to the situation in Ukraine.
A statement from F1 said “Formula 1 announced last week that we are watching the developments in Ukraine with sadness and shock and hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to the present situation. We announced it was impossible to hold the Russian Grand Prix in the current circumstances.”
The FIA said that no Russian or Belarusian national teams could compete in international competitions until further notice. This means that drivers from Russia and Belarus will complete under the ‘FIA Flag’, with a “specific commitment and adherence to the FIA’s principles of peace and political neutrality, until further notice.”
Russian and Belarusian FIA members have been told to “step aside temporarily from their roles and responsibilities of elected officers/commissions’ members”.
UK bans Russian drivers from competing
The UK governing body, Motorsport UK, has announced a ban on Russian drivers competing in the UK. They say they will not recognise licenses of competitors from Russia and Belarus until further notice, following the invasion of Ukraine last Wednesday.
It means Nikita Mazepin cannot race in the British Grand Prix even if he continues to be part of the Haas team. Mazepin’s father Dmitry provides financial backing to Haas and is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Haas is expected to sever links with their Russian driver.
Motorsport UK’s decision comes in the wake of the FIA, the international governing body, deciding to allow Russians to compete in events but ban teams from the country. Its chair David Richards is believed to have voted against the measures announced by the World Motorsport Council.
The Motorsport UK decision was made in full consultation with the UK Government and national sports governing bodies to ensure there is a unilateral response to the crisis.
A statement from Motorsport UK stated:
- No Russian/Belarusian-licensed teams are approved to enter motorsport competitions in the UK
- No Russian/Belarusian-licensed competitors and officials are approved to participate in UK motorsport events
- No Russian/Belarusian national symbols, colours, flags (on uniform, equipment and car) to be displayed at Motorsport UK-permitted events
It added that the sanctions had been taken in consultation with the UK Government.
Richards said: “It is our duty to use whatever influence and leverage we might have to bring this wholly unjustified invasion of Ukraine to a halt. We would encourage the motorsport community and our colleagues around the world to fully embrace the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee and do whatever we can to end this war.”
Richards added that “Motorsport UK stands united with Leonid Kostyuchenko, president of the Automobile Federation of Ukraine, the Ukrainian motorsport community and the Ukrainian people and calls for the violence to end with a peaceful resolution.”
Not an option to be quiet on Ukraine – Vettel
Sebastian Vettel says it was not an option for him to stay silent over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is why he had no qualms in being the first driver to speak out. The four-time champion said hours after Russia invaded the country he would boycott the race in Sochi if it went ahead.
Vettel, alongside his long time rival Lewis Hamilton, has been seen as the sports moral compass as they have taken the lead over the last two years on a range of issues, human rights, the environment, the pandemic and controversy in the sport.
While other drivers were not as vocal in their stance about the Ukraine situation, Vettel said that it did not matter that not all his rivals were willing to be so strong in their views. Instead, he said the only thing that had any importance was in hoping that matters in Ukraine can be de-escalated quickly to stop the suffering.
Speaking to Motorsport.com, about his stance on Ukraine, Vettel said, “I think everyone has an attitude. The question is whether everyone always dares to share the attitude. I’m not shy about that, quite the opposite. I think there are certain topics where you can’t remain silent.”
“It’s a strange feeling to even get out of bed when you start the day with the news, to motivate yourself when you know exactly that there are things that are much more important. Innocent people are already having to die. You can’t imagine the situation. I don’t think there’s a winning side to this kind of thing. [It is an] absolute shock, and I think the consequence is very clear.”
Vettel was born in West Germany shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall and is the first generation of Germans to grow up in a non-divide country. He believes that while not all drivers have spoken publically about the invasion, they all share the same opinion.
Adding “The important thing is that maybe the situation will relax, that it will come to an end. I don’t think anyone wants it to escalate further and get further out of control, but that seems very difficult at the moment.”
F1 was quick to respond to the invasion cancelling this year’s race, while Russian drivers will only be allowed to continue to compete in FIA sanctioned events under a neutral capacity and under the FIA flag.
While F1 is not immune to financial pressures, Vettel said that some topics have to go far beyond pure business. He says that the Ukraine situation had put into context what F1 ultimately means.
Asked if he had a message for Europe, he said: “I can’t speak for Europe. But I think I’m as European as many others. In that respect [I am] very, very shocked. I wish it would settle down after all, but some people seem to be possessed by madness. They have, I think, their own truth and their own reality. That then others have to suffer for it and be punished with their lives, that doesn’t make sense.”
Verstappen reportedly signs new £40m contract
Max Verstappen has reportedly signed a £40 million contract with Red Bull according to reports. After winning his first championship, the dutchman said he wanted to stay with Red Bull for life and he and the team have now committed to a new deal that will take him beyond his existing contract that ran until the end of 2023.
The deal ends any speculation that Verstappen could leave Red Bull, even though that seems to be unlikely in recent years. The deal moves Verstappen to the top end of F1’s earning list, with British media previously reporting Lewis Hamilton’s contract is worth around £40 million a year.
However, last year motorsport adviser Helmut Marko while confirming talks were underway, said that Hamilton’s salary was too expensive for F1 and that the sport should introduce a wage cap for drivers.
Asked to comment on the report, his father Jos told BBC News to ask Red Bull for a response to the story, but the team refused to comment. The new deal, which has been expected for some time, would rank among the most lucrative in F1 history.
Speaking at last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the immediate aftermath of his title success, Verstappen said: “I think they know I love them. And I hope we can do this for 10-15 years together. There’s no reason to change ever. I want to stay with them for the rest of my life. I hope they let me but yeah, it’s insane.”
Red Bull recently secured a huge financial boost from new title sponsor Oracle, signing a five-year $500 million deal, one of the most lucrative sponsorship agreements in sports. The deal is reported to run until the end of 2027 or 2028.
Ferrari to run largely unchanged car
Ferrari will run a largely unchanged car for the second test next in Sakhir, despite its main rivals Mercedes and Red Bull expected to bring major updates to the test. The Italian manufacturer had an encouraging first test in Barcelona, with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc consistently near the top of the timesheets throughout the three-day session.
While the F1-75 looks good on track compared to its two rivals, it is expected the situation will change when other teams are expected to bring upgrades. It has been speculated that Red Bull and Mercedes are waiting until the Bahrain test to reveal some of their most aggressive aero developments that they hope will help them start the season at the front.
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto is mindful of the potential that Mercedes and Red Bull have to improve, but he still thinks that his own team can extract a lot more performance from its current F1-75.
Speaking about the car plan for the Bahrain test, Binotto said: “It will not be much different compared to what we’ve got. I think that the first step for us will be to optimise what we have.”
“We are still far from the best performance, not only because we are running high fuel and not the best engine mode, but simply because there is a lot to exploit more from the car itself. We are more focused on that one [extracting more pace], not only in terms of setup engineering but as well in terms of driving.”
Binotto while encouraged by the test and said that the correlation between on-track performance and the data at the factory was good. He said the objective of the test was to map the car in all the conditions, and try to understand the correlations with the wind tunnel, and the simulator.
