Formula One team Haas have insisted Nikita Mazepin should not be thrown out of the sport as a consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Motorsport bosses met on Tuesday to discuss the Moscow-born 22-year-old’s fate. F1 has already stripped Russia of its Grand Prix in Sochi with FIFA and the IOC in similar discussions over athletes’ participation.
A decision is expected on Tuesday evening with Mazepin an unpopular character among many F1 fans, having filmed himself groping a woman in December 2020. He is also the son of the oligarch Dmitry Mazepin, who has alleged links to Vladimir Putin.
TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson made clear his dislike of Mazepin during testing in Barcelona, calling him a “f****** r*****” on Twitter, which Haas boss Guenther Steiner has issued a reply to.
“I heard about the tweet from Jeremy Clarkson about it,” he stated. “Maybe it was done in a moment of rage or something because it was quite direct.
“The best thing is to not look at what is there because at the moment, he has nothing to do with this.
“We just need to crack on and see where this ends up and work through it. Hopefully, [Mazepin] can keep his head up and keep on going.”
Mazepin has so far not condemned the invasion of Ukraine by Putin’s forces. When asked about the situation last week, he responded: “I'm not struggling at all because I've always been a big supporter of sports without politics and today I'm in Barcelona."
Fellow Russian and former F1 driver Daniil Kvyat, who left the series after a spell as Alpine reserve driver last season, called for an end to the violence on Tuesday but argued against banning his compatriots.
“I really hope for a peaceful solution to this situation in Ukraine, and that we can all live in peace,” he posted online.
“Hopefully all parties can find a solution by sitting together and through a respected dialogue. It horrifies me to see two brotherhood nations in a conflict.
“I don’t want military actions and wars to influence the future of humanity. I want my daughter and all children to enjoy this beautiful world.
“I would also like to highlight and address all sports federations across the world, including IOC, that sport should remain outside politics, and disallowing Russian athletes and teams from participating in world competitions is an unfair solution and goes against what sport teaches us in principle: the unity and peace.
“Who else if not us sports people will help to glue nations together in the upcoming times?”
