Haas not ready for Bahrein tests while Uralkali claims sponsorship money back

Over the last few weeks and for reasons completely beyond its control, Haas F1 Team has seen itself immersed in a series of controversies and misfortunes, the latest of which came to light this Wednesday. The American team has announced that they will not be able to join the Bahrain inaugural morning session of the preseason tests on the 10th of March.  

Their absence has to do with a delay in the delivery at the Sakhir circuit of some necessary equipment for the team, a shipment which finally arrived on Tuesday night.  It seems that one of the planes carrying Haas cargo broke down and was grounded in Istanbul for 48 hours until it was finally repaired. The teams’ spokesperson declared their intention to take part in the afternoon sessions, which has been confirmed a day later, on Thursday. 
   

https://twitter.com/HaasF1Team/status/1501900575159500806

Losing such valuable testing time,  and seeing that teams will only have three full days to finalise every detail of their single-seaters, is a real setback for Haas. This reverse is even more poignant considering this season teams have to accommodate the battery of technical and rule changes of the new era of Formula One.  

Haas’ performance left a lot to be desired during the recent training sessions in Spain. It is obvious that the team still has a substantial amount of development work to be done in Bahrain. The young VF22 must get some more kilometres under its belt in order to resolve some of its shortcomings.

Uralkali claims sponsorship money back  

But the misfortunes of the American Scuderia don’t end there. On the same day that their logistics disaster was announced, their sponsor also showed up bearing more bad news.

 The Russian company Uralkali now intends to claim back every single sponsorship penny for this season. Let’s not forget that on the 5th of March Haas announced the immediate and unilateral split from the Russian company in response to the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin’s regime.

At the same time driver Nikita Mazepin, son of Kremlin friend and Uralkali CEO, the Russian oligarch Dimitry Mazepin, was laid off with immediate effect. As a result of this decision, and with just five days to go to the start of the critical Bahrein tests, Haas found itself with just one driver: Mick Schumacher.  

With no time to linger, the team has decided to bring in reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi to fill in for the destitute Mazepin. This is, however, a temporary measure until because former Haas F1 Team pilot Kevin Magnussen will be back for 2022 season. As a matter of act, the Danish will drive the American car in the Barhain testing. Another big surprise!

Mazepin strikes back 

This Wednesday, and only a few hours ahead of the start of the training sessions, an already struggling Haas has received a further blow. Nikita Mazepin has inferred that he might sue its ex-team for his dismissal. As part of his inflamed declarations, Mazepin has also said that, even if he was to be proved right by the courts, he would not return to the team where he made his debut in 2021. 

According to the Russian driver, he can not go back to compete in such a dangerous sport when he does not trust his teammates anymore. To put the icing on the cake in this truly unreal soap opera, the driver from Moscow has declared that any financial compensation obtained from a hypothetical court victory shall go to the initiative, “We Compete as one”, which supports Russian racers affected by the sanctions placed on Russia by the international community.  

Images Haas F1 Team: Haas F1 Team Official Twitter.

 

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