Haas set to resolve Uralkali deal next week, F1 future safe

On Thursday evening, Haas announced it would no longer be running its Russian-themed Uralkali livery for the remainder of the test.

The decision came after Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday morning.

Uralkali - a Russian fertilizer company - has been Haas’ title sponsor since the start of the 2021 season.

It is owned by Nikita Mazepin’s father Dmitry, who has close links to Russia’s president Vladimir Putin.

Speaking to the media on Friday in Barcelona, Steiner said: “We removed it yesterday, we have to sort out all the legal stuff, which I cannot speak about, next week. We will work through it next week. 

“I said I’m not going to go through it today, we made the decision yesterday with our team partners that this is what we’re going to do. I need to work on the rest next week.”

Even if Haas is to lose Uralkali as a title sponsor, Steiner is confident the team will be able to continue to race as normal in 2022.

“Nobody planned this so we had to take a decision because we have got more partners now, as well, and I think this was the right decision,” Steiner added. “There is no setback for the competition side of the team because of this, none at all, we just need to go through the commercial issues. We will go through that in the next weeks. But as for the to-do list, nothing more.

“It is a headache, but it’s not something which disturbs the team on the competition side. Financially we are OK. It has no implementation on the team, how we are running it, how we are doing, how we plan the season. There are more ways to get the funding. So there’s no issue with that.”

To my fans and followers - it's a difficult time and I am not in control over a lot of what is being said and done. I'm choosing to focus on what I CAN control by working hard and doing my best for my @HaasF1Team . My deepest thanks for your understanding and support. 

— Nikita Mazepin (@nikita_mazepin) February 25, 2022

Mazepin’s future with the team is also unclear, with Steiner saying “it needs to be resolved”.

“He puts a tough face on it,” Steiner said when asked about Mazepin. “For sure it bothers him, because it’s his own country, Russia. About guarantees, there are no guarantees anywhere, as I said before we need to see how this whole thing develops. 

“There’s more than F1 teams here, there’s governments involved, so I have no guarantees from that side.”