Nikita Mazepin ’s father has threatened to pull his funding from Haas regarding Mick Schumacher’s chassis.
During last season, the 22-year-old said he was driving a heavier car than his teammate and cited that as a reason why he was outperformed by the German last season.
The team boss Guenther Steiner confirmed there was a slight difference in weight between the two cars, albeit a very minimal one.
But in a preview for the new series of Netflix 's' Drive to Survive', tensions between Haas and Mazepin’s camp escalated, with the latter believing the treatment of the US outfit was unfair.
"It’s the same car," Steiner told Mazepin. "As much as you believe it’s not, it’s the same car."
Unconvinced, the young Russian's dad Dmitry, who owns company Uralkali, intervened and vowed to put the pressure on Haas, who have since removed his company's name from their car amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, by handing them an ultimatum.
"If it doesn’t change, I will send an official letter that we stop financing and stop racing," he told Jesper Carlsen.
"It will be a huge problem with the money and they will decide what to do because we will not keep this ‘let’s do, let’s do, let’s try, let’s try.’
"We already tried [for] three races and if we remove the Uralkali, we stop racing. Switch the cars. Everybody knows that someone has an advantage."
Carlsen duly informed Steiner of Mazepin's threat, which he acknowledged and believes he was justified by his belief that "there's a difference between the cars".
Confronted with the Russian's warning, Steiner responds: "I don’t want to go there on an interview."
It’s been a turbulent week for Mazepin, whose position as a member of the Haas F1 team was in jeopardy following Russia ’s invasion of Ukraine.
Yesterday, he learned he would be unable to participate in this year’s British Grand Prix.
The FIA revealed yesterday that the Russian national would in fact be allowed to compete in the upcoming campaign, racing under the governing body’s flag rather than that of Russia.
Despite the FIA’s decision, British Grand Prix chiefs have decided to take the opposite stance and have banned Mazepin from competing at Silverstone in July.
A statement from the chair of Motorsport UK, David Richards CBE stated: “The entire Motorsport UK community condemns the acts of war by Russia and Belarus in Ukraine and expresses its solidarity and support towards all those affected by the ongoing conflict.
“We stand united with the people of Ukraine and the motorsport community following the invasion and the unacceptable actions that have unfolded.
“This is a time for the international motorsport community to act and show support for the people of Ukraine and our colleagues at the Federation Automobile d'Ukraine (FAU)."
