It is no more a hidden fact that Haas parted ways with their Russian sponsor Uralkali. The American team terminated their contract with the Fertilizer company after the Russian-Ukraine conflict broke out. Amidst this, Nikita Mazepin also suffered quite a bit as he lost his F1 seat.
Haas team owner Gene Haas and team principal Guenther Steiner were physically present at the pre-season testing in Barcelona. At around 5 AM in Spanish time, the team got to know about the rise in global tensions. Soon it was clear what that meant for the team and the sponsors.
Global sports governing bodies called out to distance themselves from the Russian and Belarusian nationals. Even though FIA stated that Nikita can race under a neutral flag, that was not all. Under those circumstances, the Kannapolis-based team had to cut their ties with their title sponsors and their driver, Mazepin.
TEAM STATEMENT #HaasF1 pic.twitter.com/5aEXLzYtmV
— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) March 5, 2022
Talking about this, Haas conveyed to ESPN in an interview in mid-March, “We had really good relations with Nikita and Uralkali. They were a great sponsor. They provided much-needed capital. We really tried to make this thing work. But when you saw the media pictures of people just being bombed and shot at, this wasn’t going to work.”
READ MORE: Gene Haas Likely to Chip In With Much-Needed Financial Backing Amidst Recent Uralkali Exit
What could be the immediate cause for Haas ending their ties with Uralkali?
Talking about this, Steiner further confirmed, “It was just, ‘We have to stop this now and then deal with the consequences after.’ In eight hours, you don’t find a conclusion for any of this. The time is not there. I think we reacted the right way.”
As per ESPN, Haas had to cut ties with Uralkali as the other sponsors were reluctant to continue with the Russian company. Thus, Haas decided to remove all the red, white and blue decals that represented the Russian flag from their car. Soon after this, Haas announced on all their social media and press conference about the termination of the partnership.
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