Nikita Mazepin's father was summoned by Putin
Formula 1 have come under pressure to drop driver Nikita Mazepin after it emerged that his father was an ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The young driver's father, Dmitry Mazepin, was summoned by Putin as
Russia continue to invade Ukraine.
https://twitter.com/premystic/status/1496924982584410112?s=20&t=M6IeyezakwZM92fTkD_TQA
One Twitter user wrote: "I really hope Uralkali won't ever return and be seen on an F1 car, Haas will remove Mazepin after tomorrow, find a buyer of the team or a new sponsor because without Mazepin gone, nobody will take the team seriously or be willing to be involved with them".
https://twitter.com/F1_Madness_/status/1496926701938515969
Another added: "You said it. I agree 100 percent".
https://twitter.com/ProudItalianCdn/status/1497134765664788483
Mazepin competes for American-owned Haas, who were sponsored by Russian company Uralkali. His car also typically uses a red, white and blue livery that resembles the Russian flag.
However, Haas released a statement on Thursday announcing that it would be completing the final day of testing in Barcelona without the Uralkali branding, instead running a plain white design.
"Haas F1 Team will present its VF-22 in a plain white livery, minus Uralkali branding, for the third and final day of track running at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Friday 25 February," the team said.
"Nikita Mazepin will drive as planned in the morning session with Mick Schumacher taking over in the afternoon.
"No further comment will be made at this time regarding team partner agreements."
https://twitter.com/wtf1official/status/1496918716780527619
In a recent interview, the 22-year-old said he is a "supporter of sport without politics", after the Haas Formula One team removed the Russian sponsor from his car.
The Russian driver, who was speaking after the first morning testing from the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, was asked about the situation between Russia and Ukraine.
He was asked: "As an athlete competing at the highest level you know what's going on in the world at the moment and obviously it involves Russia.
"Is it easy to keep your mind focused on matters of the track or is part of your mind on what's going on back home?
"Is it easy to keep your mind focused on matters of the track or is part of your mind on what's going on back home?"
Mazepin reiterated his stance on the topic and admitted that he is not affected by it, before discussing the new car he is driving.
He replied: "Well, I'm not struggling at all because I've always been a big supporter of sports without politics and today I'm in Barcelona."
It comes after
Max Verstappen joined
Sebastian Vettel in raising his concerns about competing in the Russian Grand Prix following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
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