Former Formula 1 driver Nikita Mazepin has succeeded in overturning sanctions which were imposed on him by the European Union two years ago.
Mazepin lost his drive with the Haas F1 team following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. His seat was funded by sponsorship from his father Dmitry’s company Uralkali but Haas cut its ties to the fertiliser manufacturer immediately after the war began.
The EU sanctioned Mazepin and his father in March that year. However the Court of Justice of the EU ruled today the sanctions should be lifted on the ex-F1 driver.
The Mazepins were originally sanctioned as they were included among those “supporting and benefitting from the government of the Russian Federation or providing a substantial source of revenue to it, or associated with listed persons or entities.” The younger Mazepin succeeded in overturning the decision by focusing on the latter clause.
The EU’s General Court annuled the measures taken against him today, noting that “the ‘association’ criterion, applied in respect of Mr Nikita Mazepin, covers persons who are, generally speaking, linked by common interests” and that “in accordance with settled case-law, that criterion implies the existence of a link going beyond a family relationship.”
“The General Court holds that the Council did not discharge its burden of proof to establish such a link,” it continued. “The association between Mr Nikita Mazepin and his father is in no way established from an economic or capital perspective or by the existence of common interests linking them at the time when the maintaining acts were adopted.
“As regards the alleged sponsoring of Mr Nikita Mazepin by his father, the General Court finds, inter alia, that, since March 2022, Mr Nikita Mazepin has no longer been a driver for the Haas F1 Team. The maintaining acts are therefore based, de facto, solely on the family connection, which is not sufficient to maintain his name on the lists of persons subject to restrictive measures.”
Mazepin’s victory is unlikely to offer him a route back to F1, as he remains subject to a travel ban in Europe and other countries. He has attended some F1 rounds since losing his seat, including last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and raced in the Asian Le Mans Series.
Russia’s war is believed to have led 6.5 million people to leave Ukraine. Estimates of the number of dead vary widely, but the total…
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