Following the announcement that his contract with the Haas F1 Team was being terminated prior to the start of the 2022 season, Nikita Mazepin has revealed his disappointment over the decision, feeling he was prepared to accept the FIA’s proposals to allow him to race.
Mazepin and Haas title sponsor Uralkali – which is owned by Nikita’s father Dmitri Mazepin – both saw their contracts with the American team terminated on the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
However, the younger Mazepin has revealed that he was willing to accept the conditions given to Russian drivers that would have allowed him to race, including racing under a neutral flag without any flags or symbols that would identify as Russian.
But despite this, Haas opted to release him from his contract after just one season, leaving a vacancy on the grid ahead of the start of the year, which is less than two weeks away, a decision that has left the Russian driver disappointed.
“Dear fans and followers, I am very disappointed to hear that my F1 contract has been terminated,” Mazepin said in a statement on social media.
“While I understand the difficulties, the ruling from FIA plus my ongoing willingness to accept the conditions proposed in order to continue were completely ignored and no process was followed in unilateral step.
“To those who have tried to understand, my eternal thanks. I have treasured my time in F1 and genuinely hope we can all be together again in better times. I will have more to say in the coming days.”
The decision to who will replace Mazepin alongside Mick Schumacher will be taken in the next few days ahead of the second pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit.
