Ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, Haas showed the door to Nikita Mazepin and no other Russian has since participated in the championship. Former F1 driver and fellow Russian Vitaly Petrov did not take well to the development. The former Renault driver has now hit out at F1 and refused to recognize any championship title since the shun. He has also urged the Russian youth to not lose hope and keep working hard.

F1 followed the footsteps of many other sports that banned Russian athletes’ entry to compete since the conflict began. F1 does not have a formal ban in place. But Haas’ Nikita Mazepin, losing his seat in 2022, gave an obvious message. Since then, Max Verstappen won his second world title, one that Vitaly refuses to give his approval to.

In an interview with Sport-Express, he said, “Without Russia, I do not consider any title or any champion valid. We need to stop being afraid and let Russia return to world sport. We can all decide for ourselves, but I would not do this. For me, it is not acceptable. I do not understand at all the nonsense of some points of view that they try to impose on people.” [Translated using Google]

Vitaly added, “This isolation will not last forever. I understand that it is complicated, but no one should throw in the towel. I have always wanted to compete in Formula 1 all my life and young people want it now too. They need to be patient, train and believe, so that so when an opportunity to return arrives, we are all prepared.”

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Nikita Mazepin getting a Haas seat in 2021 had a lot to do with his father sponsoring the team through his fertilizer company Uralkali. However, when Haas decided to part ways with both the company and the driver in 2022, he did not take well to the news.

Nikita Mazepin lashed out at Haas for the way they showed him the exit

Amidst all the drama, FIA allowed Nikita to race in F1. Albeit with the condition that he would race under a neutral flag. However, Haas paid no heed to the development and sacked the driver, and removed the sponsor as well.

Reacting to the sacking on his Twitter, Mazepin wrote, “Dear fans and followers, I am very disappointed to hear that my F1 contract has been terminated. While I understand the difficulties, the ruling from the FIA plus my ongoing willingness to accept the conditions proposed in order to continue were completely ignored, and no process was followed in this unilateral step. To those who have tried to understand, my eternal thanks. I have treasured my time in F1 and genuinely hope we can all be together again in better times.”

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Watch This Story: The Time Vladimir Putin Took an F1 Car for a Spin

Ever since his ouster, Mazepin won the 2022 Silk Way Rally in the SSV class. While the win was a welcome one, the Russian’s ultimate goal was a return to F1.