Formula One announced that the sport has terminated its contract with Russia with no intentions of holding any Grand Prix events in the near future.
The announcement comes a week after Russia commenced an ongoing, large-scale military invasion of Ukraine. It also comes after Formula One initially cancelled plans to hold a Russian Grand Prix for the 2022 season, which was scheduled to occur at Sochi Autodrom on September 25.
“Formula One can confirm it has terminated its contract with the Russian Grand Prix promoter,” Formula One said in a released statement. “[The decision] meaning Russia will not have a race in the future.”
The Russian Grand Prix made its debut in 1913 at Saint Petersburg followed by 1914 before being canceled due to World War I and the Russian Civil War. A century later, the country returned to hosting Grand Prix events in 2014 at Sochi Autodrome, an annual event that lasted through 2021. Russia, which had a contract to host Formula One events through 2025, was initially set to relocate its annual Grand Prix event from Sochi Autodrome to Igora Drive in St. Petersburg in 2023.
The decision to cancel the Russian Grand Prix will not prevent Nikita Mazepin, the lone Russian F1 competitor currently competing for Haas F1 Team, from competing this upcoming season in spite of a request from the International Olympic Committee to have all Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in international sporting events. In a released statement from the FIA earlier this week, all Russian and Belarusian competitors and officials will be allowed to compete in international competitions in their neutral capacity under the FIA flags. Mazepin will be barred, however, from competing in this year’s British Grand Prix scheduled for July 3 following a ban request from Motorsport UK. An announcement for Mazepin’s replacement from Haas has not currently been made.
During the final day of a pre-season test session last week at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain, the Haas F1 Team removed its title sponsor Uralkali from their entries. Uralkali is a fertiliser company that is part-owned by Dmitry Mazepin, Nikita’s father.
Any decisions for Formula One to modify the 2022 schedule or replace the Russian Grand Prix with another country have not currently been made.
