Former F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone has placed his support behind Formula 1’s decision not to ban Russian drivers.
On Tuesday, the FIA announced that Russian drivers will still be allowed to race in professional motorsport under a neutral flag. The news means Nikita Mazepin could be on the grid for the first race of the 2022 season in Bahrain, although Haas are reportedly set to replace him with reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi.
The FIA’s decision appears to be an anomaly among the international sports community, which has isolated Russia over the actions of its government.
FIFA and UEFA have banned Russian teams and clubs from all their competitions until further notice, ruling them out of the men's World Cup in Qatar later this year and the Women's European Championships in England this summer. Russian club Spartak Moscow have also been expelled from the Europa League, while UEFA has terminated its sponsorship deal with energy firm Gazprom.
Alisher Usmanov, who has sponsorship links to Everton, has had his assets frozen as part of measures taken by the European Union while the players' unions and national associations have joined to condemn Russia and call for sporting sanctions ahead of the joint FIFA-UEFA statement. The Scottish, Irish, Northern Irish, Welsh and English FAs have all vowed to refuse to face Russia in any fixture.
Motorsport UK suspended drivers with Russian licenses from competing in the UK - which means Mazepin would not be able to compete at the British Grand Prix in July - but Ecclestone backed the FIA stance on the matter.
“It was absolutely the right decision by the FIA,” Ecclestone told the PA news agency. “There are so many things being agreed by the world about this conflict between Russian and Ukraine. But I don't think anybody has really thought it through, or got their heads around it.
“If there is a Russian driver in F1, what does it have to do with Russia fighting a war? There is no relationship there. The Russian athletes have nothing to do with this conflict.
“They are not part of it, and they have never been part of it. They just happen to be Russian.”
Mazepin's immediate future still hangs in the balance amid rumours he is set to be replaced by Fittipaldi. His father, oligarch Dmitry Mazepin, is a part-owner of Haas' former title sponsor, Uralkali, with the team removing their branding for the final day of pre-season testing in Barcelona.
The Russian Grand Prix, originally scheduled to take place in Sochi on September 25, was also cancelled as part of the sanctions against Russia.
Ecclestone agreed the lucrative deal with Russian president Vladimir Putin to add the race to the calendar in 2014, and he added: “The Formula One Group decided it was the right thing to do to cancel the race but, whether that was the right thing to do, I don't know? There is no war in Russia.
“The FIA confirmed it was cancelled because the Formula One Group cancelled it. If nobody spoke about cancelling the race, I am sure the FIA wouldn't have done anything.
“He [Putin] is probably not happy at all with what is happening, but with all these things going on, and him being branded a criminal and with the world against him, I don't think he would care too much about a Formula One race.”
The 22-race 2022 campaign, which was set to be a record 23 races before the Russian Grand Prix was cancelled, begins with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 20.
