Uralkali wants Haas refund for terminating F1 sponsorship

On Saturday, Haas announced it had split with driver Nikita Mazepin and Russian title sponsor Uralkali with immediate effect.

The decision came after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Uralkali having links to president Vladimir Putin. 

Haas decided to run its car in a plain white livery on the final day of the Barcelona test, removing the Russian colour scheme and Uralkali branding.

In response to Haas terminating the deal, Uralkali released a statement on Wednesday morning.

“Uralkali intends to protect its interests in line with applicable legal procedures and reserves its rights to initiate judicial proceedings, claim damages and seek repayment of the significant amounts Uralkali had paid for the 2022 Formula 1 season,” the statement read.

“As most of the sponsorship funding for the 2022 season has already been transferred to Haas and given that the Team terminated the sponsorship agreement before the first race of the 2022 season, Haas has thus failed to perform its obligations to Uralkali for this year's season. Uralkali shall request the immediate reimbursement of the amounts received by Haas. 

Uralkali revealed that the funds will be used to set up a foundation titled: ‘We Complete As One’.

“The refund from Haas and the remaining part of Uralkali's sponsor financing for 2022 will be used to establish the We Compete As One athlete support foundation.”