Mazepin makes shock return to F1 paddock

Dmitry Mazepin, the father of former F1 driver Nikita and a previous title sponsor of Haas, was a surprising figure in the paddock on the second day of the pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Belarusian-Russian billionaire Mazepin remains sanctioned by the European Union and the United Kingdom following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in March 2022. No such sanctions exist in the Middle East.

Mazepin's visit to the F1 paddock is his first since Haas terminated the racing contract of his son and severed all ties with the 56-year-old, who title-sponsored Haas via his potash fertiliser company, Uralkali, two years ago.

Nikita Mazepin drove for Haas in 2021 after his father's sponsorship agreement with the team, enduring a wretched campaign as he and then team-mate Mick Schumacher failed to score a point between them as Haas finished rock-bottom in the constructors' standings.

Following the invasion, Haas felt it had no choice but to immediately sack Nikita and end its association with Mazepin, particularly in light of his close links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The imposition of sanctions by the European Union, by extension, applied to Nikita. In March 2024, he successfully managed to overturn them by the EU's General Court.

It reasoned that the "association" criteria used to sanction Mazepin required a further link than just his father's relationship with Putin. Late last year, Dmitry Mazepin's attempt to have his sanctions lifted were denied.

In June last year, Dmitry Mazepin won a lengthy court battle with Haas. Uralkali sought compensation after Haas ended its contract, culminating in a Swiss arbitration tribunal ordering the F1 team to pay compensation.

It is known that Mazepin visited the hospitality facilities at Mercedes. His son previously took part in a private test with Mercedes in Barcelona in 2019.

He also visited Alpine. Mazepin has ties with team principal Oliver Oakes. Nikita drove for Oakes' Hitech GP outfit in the Formula 3 European Championship in 2016 and 2017, the F3 Asian Championship in 2019-2020, and F2 in 2020.

It is unknown how Mazepin acquired a pass for the test. RacingNews365 has learned neither F1, the FIA, any of the 10 teams, nor the Bahrain International Circuit were involved.

It is understood that Mazepin entered the paddock via a rotational pass, with prior guest approval not required. There is apparently no record on F1's systems of any application. Credential staff within F1 are believed to be looking into the matter.