Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has backed Nikita Mazepin after the Russian driver was abused by Jeremy Clarkson on Twitter over his stance on the Russian Grand Prix.
The race, due to be held in Sochi on 25 September, has since been cancelled following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and F1 are set to hold further meetings to discuss the crisis.
F1 said the Russian Grand Prix is “impossible to hold” in the current circumstances after initially coming under pressure when four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel refused to compete at the race in the wake of the Vladimir Putin-backed invasion.
It came after Haas dropped the branding of key Russian sponsor Uralkali from its car at pre-season testing in Barcelona. Haas are backed by Russian billionaire Dmitry Mazepin, who is the founder of Uralkali and Mazepin’s father.
Mazepin, whose future in F1 remains in doubt, said following F1’s decision to cancel the Russian Grand Prix that he was still hopeful the Sochi race would go ahead adding, “I have always been a big supporter of sports without politics.”
Mazepin’s stance was criticised by former Top Gear host Clarkson, who posted in a X-rated rant on Twitter: “Nikita Mazepin. You f****** r*****. Go and race in Russia on your own. You’d still lose.”
Clarkson was criticised for his language towards Mazepin and Haas team boss Steiner was asked about the backlash that followed, amid the ongoing uncertainty around Mazepin’s future in the sport.
“I heard about the tweet from Jeremy Clarkson about it. Maybe it was done in a moment of rage or something because it was quite direct,” Steiner said.
“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, he [Mazepin] can keep his head up and keep on going.”
It is understood that Mazepin’s future is set to top the agenda at an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the crisis in Ukraine. Mazepin is the only Russian driver on the grid and could be banned from competing in the 2022 season, after Fifa and the IOC banned Russia from international competitions on Monday.
