PIT + PADDOCK
Haas has Monza scare before Uralkali payment
FORMULA 1 The Haas Formula 1 team was under threat of having its equipment seized at the Dutch Grand Prix amid a row with former sponsor Uralkali but will race at Monza this weekend.
Uralkali, the Russian fertiliser company that sponsored Haas in 2021 and 2022 through driver Nikita Mazepin, saw its deal terminated in early 2022 in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A Swiss arbitration court ruled in June that Haas should refund Uralkali part of its sponsorship payment that had already been made for the 2022 season, plus an F1 car also promised to the company. While the court stated that Haas was within its rights to terminate the deal, it also said that the American-owned squad could only keep a portion of the $13million sponsorship balance paid for the campaign.
Haas was therefore ordered to give back the remainder of the sponsorship payment that went beyond 4 March 2022, when the deal was cancelled. But with neither the payment nor car having arrived by the July deadline, Uralkali decided to escalate the matter with courts in Holland last week.
It successfully asked for Haas’s assets at the Dutch GP to be seized and, as a result, bailiffs and police visited the Haas team at Zandvoort on Thursday night to evaluate the team’s assets. While it was agreed that Haas’s participation in the Dutch GP could proceed as normal, the team was told that it would not be allowed to remove its cars and equipment from the country after the race until the outstanding payment had been made, putting its plans to travel to Monza’s Italian GP at risk.
Haas clarified on Friday that it was working with Uralkali to finalise the transfer of the funds, but said it had to be sure that any payments fully complied with sanctions that have been imposed on various Russian companies. The statement said: “Haas fully intends to pay to Uralkali all amounts due pursuant to the arbitration award, and there is no dispute over the amounts owed. Haas has been working with its lawyers to ensure payment will comply with all relevant US, EU, UK and Swiss sanctions and regs.”
Mazepin tested in 2022 before deal was terminated
Uralkali issued its own statement on Friday, welcoming the fact that Haas was working on sorting out the payment – but said it did not view the sanctions issue as a justifiable reason for the delay. “The arbitral ruling was issued 12 June with immediate effect and has been ignored by Haas,” said a Uralkali spokesperson. “Haas has had over two months to implement the ruling, and, as was reported previously, Uralkali reached out to Haas’s representatives with options about how to make payment and where to send the race car, without ever receiving a substantive answer.
“There are not now and never have been any sanctions issues preventing Haas from fulfilling its obligations. Nevertheless, they have gone unfulfilled. We are delighted to hear that, following last night’s visit from Dutch authorities, Haas is finally paying attention to the arbitral ruling. Uralkali wants nothing more than to receive what it was awarded during a fair judicial process.”
On Monday afternoon Uralkali confirmed it had finally received a refund payment believed to total $9m and an F1 car. Haas had insisted the payment had been made on Friday and confirmation was delayed because it was the weekend. It is understood the $9m sum was deposited into an account in the Middle East after Haas had been concerned that making a direct payment would be in breach of sanctions placed on Russian businesses. “Uralkali have now confirmed receipt of last Friday’s financial transfer and therefore our trucks have been given clearance to depart the Netherlands and make their way to Italy immediately,” Haas said in a statement.
The one-day delay should not impact preparations for this weekend’s Italian GP. MARK MANN-BRYANS AND OLEG KARPOV
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4 AUTOSPORT.COM 29 AUGUST 2024
Haas race cars were set to be held in the Netherlands but will make it to Italy
