Haas chief Guenther Steiner has shed more light on the decision to sack driver Nikita Mazepin just two weeks before the start of the new season.
The team had planned to race with Mazepin and Mick Schumacher for a second successive season, but all that changed when Russia invaded Ukraine. Suddenly, there was huge pressure on Haas to take action over both the driver and sponsor Uralkali.
Dmitry Mazepin, who owns that company and paid for his son's seat with the team, has close ties to Vladimir Putin. As well as fan demands, team owner Gene Haas revealed that there had also been pressure from other sponsors to act.
