Haas owes compensation to Uralkali according to the Swiss court
After the judgment made public at the end of June which sided with the Haas team in its battle with Uralkali, according to the Tass press agency, the team is now required to send them Nikita Mazepin's 2021 Formula 1 car.
In February 2022, shortly before the new Formula 1 season, the Haas team terminated the contract that bound them to Russian driver Nikita Mazepin. This contract termination followed the beginning of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and Russia’s invasion of its neighboring country, as well as the revocation of all Russian drivers’ licenses by the FIA. As a result, they also parted ways with their sponsor Uralkali, a company led by Nikita Mazepin’s father.
Uralkali, still under contract with the team, decided to file a complaint claiming that they had not respected the terms of the contract. For this breach, the Russian company had requested a reimbursement of 13 million dollars.
Court decision
The battle between Uralkali and Haas has been going on since 2022 and only found a resolution in June 2024. The recent ruling of the Swiss court, made public last month, seems to have sided with the Formula 1 team in its fight against the Russian company. A recent ruling that initially appeared to be limited to a simple reimbursement of sponsors but has evolved in the past few days to include some damages imposed on the American team.
Despite valid reasons recognized by the justice system, the Haas team was sentenced to repay the 13 million dollar sponsorship contract, but without any other penalty.
However, the Swiss Arbitration Court did not stop there as it would also involve Nikita Mazepin’s former car in the negotiations between the two parties. This information was shared this weekend by the Russian news agency Tass.
It seems, therefore, that in addition to the reimbursement of the sponsorship funds, Haas is also forced to send Nikita Mazepin’s VF-21 to Uralkali. A judgment that should soon take place since the team must send the car before July 13. Conditions issued by the company itself and supported by the Swiss court.
After a detailed examination of the case, the arbitration established the breaches of contract by the team and awarded Uralkali compensation. Haas also rejected all counterclaims to Uralkali. The company expects Haas to promptly fulfill its obligations under the arbitral tribunal’s decision, reads a statement from the arbitration tribunal.
In the same way: Uralkali hopes that Haas will comply with the court decision and return the race car within the set deadline, and will also pay the outstanding debt as soon as possible, a Uralkali spokesperson had entrusted.
After the judgment, the Russian company would have sent a letter to the Haas team itself to specify the maximum time at which they can send the car. A matter that should therefore be resolved shortly.
With Lucas Autreau
