Government guidelines on dealing with sanctioned individuals states that British firms “must refrain from dealing with the funds or assets or making them available (directly or indirectly) to such persons unless licensed by the office of Financial Sanctions Implementation.”
Dmitry Mazepin had already transferred his majority shareholding in Formula 2 and Formula 3 team Hitech before the government measures were announced.
It is likely that Haas has already spent much of Uralkali’s sponsorship money in developing this year’s Formula 1 car. Team boss Guenther Steiner refused to discuss the funding at last week’s Bahrain test.
“My stance on it is, should there’ll be an issue, I think there’s a legal process in place to sort this out,” he said.
Last week the EU announced its decision to sanction Dmitry Mazepin as a result of his close links with Vladimir Putin, which included meeting the Russian president on the day that Russia invaded Ukraine.
This shows that he is “a member of the closest circle of Vladimir Putin and that he is supporting or implementing actions that threaten Ukraine,” according to the EU ruling.
Nikita was also named on the EU list because of his Uralkali sponsorship and his close association with his father.
The British government used the EU’s rationale to justify its own sanctions. Even without the sanctions, Mazepin is likely to have been prevented from racing at the British Grand Prix after the national governing body, Motorsport UK banned Russian-licensed drivers from entering its events.