American racing team Haas F1 has recently dealt with some severe obstacles amidst the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The team announced the termination of its contract with sponsors Uralkali and driver Nikita Mazepin.

Besides the terminations, they’ve also not been amazing at the pre-season testing as their car faced multiple issues.

After closely following the widely covered conflict, they were quick to take action. A proper announcement quickly replaced the initial hint in the form of a team post. Mazepin, devastated by the news, also made several statements that made nothing easy for Haas.

Haas needs a breather

Following the release of Mazepin, there have been various people who have shared their views about it. While a part of the racing fraternity sympathizes with him, there are many who feel that Haas’ decision was right.

Haas, on the other hand, was quick to respond that it had no intentions of becoming the center of criticism. Gene Haas said, “There was a lot of intense criticism about the Ukrainian invasion and it was just getting overwhelming. We can’t deal with all that, our other sponsors can’t deal with all that”.

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President Gene also informed that the logos for machine tool builders, Haas Automation, would be present on the car livery. Furthermore, Pietro Fittipaldi will fill in for Nikita Mazepin as the test driver during the next testing. Whether he will race alongside Mick Schumacher is yet to be confirmed.

Fittipaldi, previously, came in very handy for Haas back in 2020 when he stepped in to replace Romain Grosjean. The 25-year-old was a great help as he ran two races while Grosjean injured his hand severely during a fatal crash. However, there’s no doubt that Haas would want a driver who has a bit more racing experience and can compete with Schumacher.

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Backing his statement Gene said, “We’re in the process of looking at several candidates, we’ll see who is available and what we have to deal with, but we’ll have somebody by Wednesday,” Haas said. “Pietro will definitely be in it, that’s what he’s for, he’s the test driver.”

“I think we’re looking. I think we’d obviously like to get someone with a bit more actual experience,”

“We just have to see what’s available.” He further added.

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Haas did not perform well last season and would look forward to an improved year ahead. They found a star in Mick Schumacher and with a revamped car they might just turn out to be a competitive midfield car. However, nothing can be determined yet and fans are excited to see their favorite drivers back on the grid on March 20, 2022.