Haas has refuted the assertion made by a previous sponsor that it must reimburse the party for the contract’s early termination. Advertise | Become a Patron & Become Ad-Free At the start of their second season together in 2022, the Formula 1 team terminated their title sponsorship agreement with Uralkali. Haas also fired Nikita Mazepin, the driver. Dmitry Mazepin is the previous owner of Uralkali. A tribunal “found that Haas was in violation of the contract and obliged the team to pay compensation to Uralkali,” according to a press release released by Uralkali three days ago.
Nevertheless, Haas refuted Uralkali’s two assertions. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the panel concluded that they had “just cause” to terminate their agreement with the Russian corporation. The panel’s decision that it “could not be expected to continue the sponsorship agreement under such circumstances” was cited by Haas. According to Haas, the tribunal mandated that it hold onto the sponsorship money before terminating the agreement and give Uralkali the remaining sum. “Immediate reimbursement of the amounts received by Haas” was what the fertiliser maker had asked. In the wake of the invasion, the team, like many other sports teams, cut their links with Russian firms and cancelled their contract with Uralkali.
The FIA prohibited Russian and Belarussian competitors from competing under their national flags, and Formula 1 removed the Russian Grand Prix from its schedule. According to Haas, if they hadn’t ended their agreement with Uralkali at the start of 2022, they “may quickly become the last non-Russian sports team continuing with a Russian name sponsor.” In March, the driver was able to overcome the European Union’s censure against Dmitry Mazepin and his son, who had met Russian President Vladimir Putin in the month prior to the invasion.