Having unequivocally cancelled the Russian Grand Prix contract in the wake of the country's military invasion of Ukraine, Formula 1 have now severed all ties with Russia by terminating their contract with Match TV, F1's regional broadcast rights holder. All of F1's subscription services are in the process of being similarly withdrawn. The move means fans in the country will no longer receive broadcasts of what is known as 'moving car' footage, nor will they be able to access F1 TV Pro and its archive services. Short of pirate viewing, F1 will not be available at all in Russia. Match TV is Russia's official sports broadcaster and was founded by a presidential decree in 2015 in conjunction with Gazprom Media. The majority government energy company also owns the G-Drive LMP2 WEC team, which was banned by the FIA after Daniil Kyvat and Roman Rusinov, driver and team manager respectively, last week refused to sign up to the governing body's Neutrality and Peace Commitment . The cancellations mark F1's fourth and final step in severing the wider sport's exposure to Russia. The race's contract was terminated within two days of the invasion, with Haas F1 Team a week later cancelling their Uralkali sponsorship and the associated Nikita Mazepin race driver agreements.
Further changes in response to Russian military action
On Thursday, Ferrari exclusively confirmed to RacingNews365.com that their Kaspersky sponsorship was "paused". As reported by RacingNews365.com , Mazepin and his father Dmitry, the ultimate beneficiary of Uralkali, are named on the EU's latest sanctions list. However, UK official records show that majority control of F2/3 team Hitech Grand Prix, a company linked to the family via the Cyprus-registered holding company Bergton Management, had been transferred to Team Principal Oliver Oakes on 1 March – the day the FIA announced their peace and neutrality initiative. In a further development, Oakes, who acts as motorsport manager and adviser to the Mazepin family, on 14 January registered another company, Uralkali Racing Limited.
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