Haas’ former title sponsor Uralkali has filed an application in Dutch courts to seize the Formula One team’s assets, including cars and other equipment, over outstanding payments.
Following a Swiss arbitration hearing in June, it was ruled that Haas must reimburse Uralkali part of the sponsorship payment it made for 2022, before the deal was cancelled following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While the court ruled that Haas had the right to terminate the agreement, it also said that the American-owned team could only keep a portion of the $13 million it had paid in sponsorship for the season.
Haas was then ordered to return the remainder of the sponsorship payments beyond March 4, 2022, when the deal was canceled. The total is believed to be approximately $9 million.
After Uralkali claimed last month that Haas had missed its July repayment deadline, the Russian company decided to turn to the Dutch courts this week.
He requested the seizure of Haas assets during the Dutch Grand Prix, with a provisional judgment in his favor. As a result, bailiffs and police visited the Haas team in Zandvoort on Thursday evening to pursue the matter and assess the team’s assets.
Nikita Mazepin, Haas VF-21, Mick Schumacher, Haas VF-21
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Although it was agreed that Haas’ participation in the Dutch Grand Prix could go ahead as normal, the team was told it would not be allowed to remove its cars and equipment from the country after the race until payment had been made.
A statement released by Haas clarified that it is now working with Uralkali to finalize the transfer of funds, saying it needs to ensure that any payments are fully compliant with sanctions imposed on various Russian companies.
The statement said: “Haas is fully willing to pay Uralkali all amounts due under the arbitration award and there is no dispute as to the amounts due.”
“Haas has worked with its legal team to ensure that the payment complies with all relevant US, EU, UK and Swiss sanctions and regulations. We will continue to work with Uralkali in the coming days to definitively resolve this matter.”
Uralkali released its own statement on Friday, welcoming the fact that Haas was working to resolve the payment, but saying it did not see the sanctions issue as a justifiable reason for the delay.
“We are aware that Dutch bailiffs, accompanied by the police, arrived at the Haas garage last night and made an inventory of all equipment and other property,” an Uralkali spokesperson said.
“This is the intended consequence of Haas’ refusal to obey the arbitration award awarding payment and a car to Uralkali. The arbitration award was issued on June 12 with immediate effect and has been ignored by Haas.”
“Haas has had more than two months to implement the ruling and, as previously reported, Uralkali contacted Haas representatives to explain how to make the payment and where to send the car, but never received a concrete response.”
“There are not and never have been any sanctions issues that prevent Haas from fulfilling its obligations. However, they have remained unfulfilled.”
“We are pleased to hear that, following last night’s visit by Dutch authorities, Haas is finally paying attention to the arbitration award. Uralkali wants nothing more than to receive what it has been awarded in a fair judicial process and hopes that Haas will move quickly to rectify the situation so that all parties can move forward.”
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