Nikita Mazepin to fight in court for a possible F1 return

The sanctions include an asset freeze and travel ban on Mazepin, which according to his lawyers is preventing the racing driver to open negotiations with F1 teams

Russian Formula 1 racing driver Nikita Mazepin is said to working on heading to courts in the UK to try and make his way back to the sport.

According to reports, the racing driver states that his return to Formula1 has been held up by sanctions imposed by the British government. The sanctions include an asset freeze and travel ban on Mazepin, which according to his lawyers is preventing the racing driver to open negotiations with F1 teams for a potential seat in 2024.

Reports also state that a hearing has been set for June 2023 where Nikita Mazepin will argue for the sanctions to be temporarily lifted while he prepares for a full-legal challenge. This final hearing will take place a month later in July 2023.

Nikita Mazepin was signed by the American F1 team, Haas for the 2021 season. The Russian F1 driver, however, struggled the entire season, ultimately finishing 21st in a lineup of 20 full-time drivers. Nikita's father Dmitry Mazepin even took out a title sponsorship deal with the team. However, as the 2022 season's testing began, Nikita was dropped from the team, along with his dad's title sponsorship because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Adding to this, the Mazepin family even received sanctions imposed by the UK, Canada and Europe because of their close ties to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Source: ESPN