Nikita Mazepin is suing Canada in the hope of reclaiming a spot in F1
Running is prohibited in F1 since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the Russian driver is attacking Canada in front of the Federal Court. He is requesting the cancellation of the sanctions that concern him in the hopes of a possible return to the premier competition.
You have to go back to 2021 to see Nikita Mazepin behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car. The young driver then lost his seat at Haas during the 2022 pre-season, as soon as the war broke out in Ukraine and even before international sanctions were imposed.
He and his father have thus been placed on the EU sanctions lists due to their close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Dmitry Mazepin was photographed at a meeting of oligarchs and other businessmen at the Kremlin on the day the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
The European Union has recently reversed its sanctions and authorized the young driver to compete again, on the condition that he races under a neutral license and signs the FIA charter. However, while he hopes to secure a seat for next year, the fact that he is still prohibited from racing in Canada, whose Grand Prix has been on the calendar since 1967, is throwing a wrench in his plans.
Mazepin has therefore decided to sue the Canadian government and more specifically the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, before the Federal Court in order to be removed from the country’s blacklist.
The motion he filed before the court states that he is only a young sportsman and professional race car driver who is in no way involved in the assault suffered by Ukraine. He adds that these sanctions drastically diminish his chances of a potential comeback on the grid in 2024.
The case of Mazepin is currently being examined across the Atlantic. In the event of a positive response, he would be allowed to race wherever he wants. In any case, a return of the Russian driver to F1 seems highly unlikely given that his time at Haas was far from successful. As a reminder, his best result was a 14th place in Baku in 2021.
