Haas officially ends cooperation with Mazepin and Uralkali! So who will drive alongside Schumacher in the new season?

What has been speculated in recent days has become a reality. The American team Haas has terminated its cooperation with driver Nikita Mazepin and Russian sponsor Uralkali with immediate effect. So who should take the other driver’s seat?

The Haas team has officially ended its cooperation not only with driver Mazepin, but also with the Russian company Uralkali, owned by Dmitry Mazepin, father of twenty-three-year-old Nikita.

“The Haas F1 Team has decided to terminate its cooperation with Uralkali and its contract with Nikita Mazepin with immediate effect. Like the rest of the F1 paddock, we are shocked and saddened by the invasion of Ukraine and wish for a swift and peaceful end to the conflict,” the team said in an official statement.

Uralkali has interfered heavily in the colouring of the Haas monoposto, but its overall contribution has not been that huge. Mazepin’s company accounted for only 25% of the team’s budget.

Haas got rid of all Uralkali branding during testing in Barcelona, and the team officially confirmed the chemical giant’s departure on Saturday morning. The main reason, of course, is Mazepin’s ties to President Putin.

The Russian oligarch was also not helped by the fact that he had already accepted an invitation to Vladimir Putin after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, something that not only the American stable but the whole of F1 could not ignore.

So the question remains, who will race alongside Mick Schumacher in the 2022 season? The most likely alternative at the moment is Pietro Fittipaldi, who has tested with Haas before and also intervened in two races in 2020, replacing Romain Grosjean.

Moreover, if he were to be engaged, he would bring an interesting financial acquisition, also politically it would make sense for the American stable (the arrival of the grandson of the double world champion – Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi).

It may also seem that the departure of the title sponsor could be a big problem for the team. However, given the facts mentioned above, it is likely to be exactly the opposite in the case of Haas. In fact, the departure of Uralkali will end Dmitry Mazepin’s considerable influence while also offering room for new partners.

F1, Haas F1 Team, Motorsport