The first empty box, which will soon be filled with the initials of the International Federation, appeared today on the monitors of the Sakhir circuit, where the Formula 3 tests took place. The Russian driver Alexander Smolyar was not associated with any nationality, as per indications provided by the FIA yesterday evening.
The extraordinary World Council convened by President Mohammed Bin Sulayem took a different position according to the various fronts of discussion, deciding to cancel from the FIA series calendars of all the events scheduled in Russian and Belarusian territory, ordering the removal of flags and anthems on all the racetracks, but at the same time leaving a window to the Russian drivers to be able to be at the start of international competitions.
As has already happened in the Olympic Games, athletes who renounce their national colors can be admitted to the start of competitions, and in the case of the drivers they will be required to pass under the neutral flag of the FIA.
As a further condition, the International Federation has stated that pilots must abide by the FIA guidelines regarding peace and political neutrality. The decision does not close the door to the Russian drivers, who at first breathed a sigh of relief, and the first reference was to the position of Nikita Mazepin. But the situation is still complex, and several question marks remain.
Now the Haas driver can hope to be at the start of the 2022 world championship, but he cannot yet count on the absolute certainty of being on track at Sakhir next week.
The FIA has thrown the ball into the fields of the individual teams, who will have to evaluate the advantages and complications of having a contract with a Russian driver today. In addition to potential difficulties on the financial / commercial front, there is also a question mark on that of the visas required for entry into the host countries of the scheduled races.
The situation is not yet clear (for example in Australia) and there is therefore the risk of being refused entry to the host country at the last minute. In addition, some countries, such as the United Kingdom, will not accept competitions on its circuits with Russian licensed drivers, a further complication that will have a significant impact.
In the case of Mazepin, for example, a license change would be essential to be at the start at the Silverstone weekend, and it cannot be excluded that other countries such as Finland have already said they will follow the position taken by the United Kingdom.
For the Russian Haas driver there is also a certain formal embarrassment (which emerged well before the dramatic Ukraine event) due to the coexistence of a Russian driver in a US team.
Commercial reasons had prevailed over prejudices, and by now the Haas-Mazepin relationship was taken for granted, but the outbreak of the crisis in Ukraine has exacerbated everything. For Gene Haas, the time available for a decision is not much, given that in a week we will be on the eve of the Sakhir tests, and at the moment any scenario seems possible.
The Russian issue is set to have a major impact on motorsport as a whole, and in some cases even more than in Formula 1.
In many international series, such as WEC, ELMS, as well as various single-make trophies and in the same preparatory formulas, the total number of Russian pilots involved becomes more substantial.
Even the timing does not play in favor, given that all the championships are now at the starting line of the season, and for some teams it will not be painless to activate a possible ‘b’ plan if it is essential to replace drivers.
Last but not least, but certainly not in order of importance, there is also the sponsor issue, that is commercial agreements with Russian companies contractually engaged with financial support.
Also in this case the scenarios are different, but the trend seems to be to remove the logos of Russian sponsors from the cars. A choice that will not be painless for many programs ready to kick off the season.
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