FIA’s World Motor Sport Council will convene for another emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss issues in regards to the current invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
The FIA, the world governing body of motorsport, will conduct an emergency meeting on Tuesday to consider Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the future of Russian drivers, notably Formula 1 driver Nikita Mazepin.
In the aftermath of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s savage assault on Ukraine, which has been highly denounced by the international community, the International Olympic Committee has asked all sports to exclude Russian athletes from competing.
Last Thursday, President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian military forces to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, particularly the cities of Kyiv and Kharkiv by land, air, and water. Since the assault began, dozens of major Ukrainian cities have been attacked, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to escape the nation.
As a result of Putin’s aggressive attack on Ukraine, Russia has been chastised for its activities, and sanctions have been applied as number of international and European organizations have taken steps to make Russia a sporting and cultural pariah by progressively shunning off the country.
The Ukrainian Automobile Federation (FUA) asked for a ban on Russians and Belarusians competing in FIA-approved competitions on Monday.
Leonid Kostyuchenko, the head of the Automobile Federation of Ukraine, addressed a letter to the FIA demanding that all Russian drivers be stripped of their licenses to compete in FIA-organized events, as well as additional sanction requests aimed at making Russians pariahs in motorsport.
Now the FIA must decide whether to comply to the IOC’s and Kostyuchenko’s request to expel Russian competitors, which would prevent Mazepin from competing in the 2022 season with American-owned Haas.
The International Olympic Committee, which recognizes the FIA, recommended that all governing organizations suspend athletes from Russia and Belarus later in the day.
FIFA and UEFA have barred Russian teams from competing in football tournaments, including the World Cup, and the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Sochi slated for September has been canceled, as has Russia’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest this year.
Mazepin’s future, according to Haas team principal Gunther Steiner, must be’resolved.’ Mazepin is widely regarded as the weakest driver on the Formula One grid after an awful debut season marred by spins, slow pace, and an accusation of groping a woman in a video uploaded online.
Dmitry Mazepin, Mazepin’s father, is an oligarch with close ties to Putin who met with him one-on-one on the same day he started a brutal assault on Ukraine.
The older Mazepin is the owner and chairman of Uralchem, a Russian fertilizer company whose brand Ural Kali was the title sponsor of the American-owned Haas team from the start of 2021 until it was canceled last week.
