Former F1 driver Nikita Mazepin calls Russian sanctions ‘cancel culture’

Former F1 driver Nikita Mazepin said he 'does not agree with being in the sanctions' against him and his Russian oligarch father, and that he intends to 'fight it.'

Former Formula One (F1) driver Nikita Mazepin has described the sanctions imposed against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine as “cancel culture against my country.”

Recently, the Haas F1 team terminated an existing contract with Russian-native Mazepin and the title sponsor Uralkali, a Russian potash fertilizer producer and exporter owned by Mazepin’s father, oligarch Dmitry Mazepin.

Uralkali was dropped as a sponsor on Feb. 24, the same day Russia invaded Ukraine. Later, Nikita Mazepin was released from his contract on March 5.

“As with the rest of the Formula 1 community, the team is shocked and saddened by the invasion of Ukraine and wishes for a swift and peaceful end to the conflict,” Haas F1 team said in the statement announcing Mazepin’s termination.

Both Nikita and Dmitry Mazepin were added to the European Union sanction list just a few days after the driver’s F1 contract was terminated.

The EU cited Dmitry’s Feb. 24 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin (and other business people) as reason for the sanction, claiming he “is a member of the closest circle of Vladimir Putin.” The EU report also claimed, “that he is supporting or implementing actions or policies which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, as well as stability and security in Ukraine.”

Nikita Mazepin was sanctioned by the EU for being “associated with a leading businessperson (his father) involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the Government of the Russian Federation, which is responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilisation of Ukraine.”