The relationship between Haas, an all-American F1 team, and Uralkali, a Russia-based fertilizer company, was always one of convenience. Haas needed funding and Uralkali owner Dmitry Mazepin needed an F1 seat for his son Nikita. A match made in heaven, right? Well, turned out that in just a few months, it wasn’t. Both parties went through an aggressive back and forth as the partnership began to collapse. And then it all came crumbling down like a house of cards when Russia invaded Ukraine. Gene Haas and Guenther Steiner bid goodbye to the Mazepins for good, reiterating their team’s stand against the aggressive attempt at the takeover. However, those claims took a significant dent as a media giant recently exposed their alleged Russian ties. They have now come out all guns blazing, denying any such involvement.

In 2021, Nikita Mazepin paired up with Mick Schumacher, replacing Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen. The all-rookie lineup backfired almost immediately as Mazepin failed to outperform his teammate weekend after weekend. That gave birth to a sense of resentment that came out publically when he accused his team of fielding a completely different car for Mick. The strain in the relationship carried through the season and ended with his ouster in 2022 after the Ukraine invasion.

The report from PBS has, however, caused damage to its reputation. Denying all claims in the report in a statement Haas Automation recently released, they wrote, “In particular, Haas, as a company, has deplored Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and taken every step in its control to cease doing business with Russia or Russian companies.”  

“It has also taken affirmative measures to support Ukraine, including, in compliance with U.S. export control and sanctions regulations, providing Haas’ distributor in Ukraine and its Ukrainian customers expedited delivery of Haas manufactured machines.  These, and earlier provided Haas machines, are directly and indirectly supporting Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself against Russia’s unwarranted invasion.”

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The US government is currently at loggerheads with Russia since the imposition of sanctions. Haas is alleged to have breached the sanctions by sending 18 shipments worth $2.8 million to Russia.

The explosive PBS report that pushed the entire team Haas and Guenther Steiner on the back foot

PBS recently caused an uproar in the F1 world and outside with their report on Haas’ Russian ties. The report alleged that Haas Automation may have flouted export controls to deal directly with the Russians.

Simon Ostrovsky reported, “But our investigation puts that account into doubt. Customs records reviewed by “NewsHour” show that shipments continued for months after Russia’s invasion began. At least 18 shipments were made to Russia directly from Haas worth $2.8 million from March 4 through October of last year. Sanctions or no, Russia’s arms industry depends on technology developed in other countries.”

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It will be interesting to see whether the American authorities will take cognizance of the matter and launch an investigation into the allegations. Haas’ reputation has certainly taken a big hit which could only iron out if they come out clean in front of the law.