788 replies to this topic

[Squeed]

Uralkali will be hit with sanctions tomorrow, won't be able to use the Western banking system and will likely lose 75% of their value. 

Poor Haas might be in for another long season. 

[TecnoRacing]

Uralkali will be hit with sanctions tomorrow, won't be able to use the Western banking system and will likely lose 75% of their value. 

Poor Haas might be in for another long season. 

"If you lie down with dogs..."

[thegamer23]

Pretty sure they removed "Uralkali" from their Twitter username already

 

https://twitter.com/HaasF1Team

[mtknot]

Pretty sure they removed "Uralkali" from their Twitter username already

 

https://twitter.com/HaasF1Team

 

Wow that was fast 

[thegamer23]

Wondering if they have a Plan B ready.

The Russian-Ucraine situation has been worsening for a few weeks now, the latest developments are not a surprise.

 

Rich Energy to be back? 

Edited by thegamer23, 24 February 2022 - 08:09.

[Muppetmad]

Would this put Mazepin's place in the team at risk at all? I ask this genuinely: I don't know how the Haas finances work these days.

[Sash1]

Would this put Mazepin's place in the team at risk at all? I ask this genuinely: I don't know how the Haas finances work these days.

 

Depends on how much money Uralkali has on unblocked bank accounts in the West. SWIFT will be closed off, so it will be impossible to transfer it from Russia. 

[numberten]

Would this put Mazepin's place in the team at risk at all? I ask this genuinely: I don't know how the Haas finances work these days.

 

If the money has been paid upfront for his seat, I doubt it. If it hasn't then I guess it would be a call for the team, is he the best driver available for that seat if he doesn't bring funding?

[Disgrace]

While I obviously have no concrete idea, the Russian government has historically countered with subsidies for sanction-hit entities, so it may not necessarily affect things.

[Disgrace]

Pretty sure they removed "Uralkali" from their Twitter username already

 

https://twitter.com/HaasF1Team

 

I do wonder if they'll have to repaint their car, which is literally a Russian flag on wheels.

[ColeTrickle44]

Feels inevitable HAAS need to make a change, I don’t think many western countries will fancy that car plodding around..

Also, I Mazepin Snr likely to be hit by economic sanctions ?

[player1s]

Uralkali will be hit with sanctions tomorrow, won't be able to use the Western banking system and will likely lose 75% of their value. 

Poor Haas might be in for another long season. 

If the car is good, Gene might be willing to pump more money into it. I always had the impression that he wanted to see how the new rules would work out for them. Since they got postponed to 2022 due to Covid he went super cheap into 2021. If he had already given up on the team, it would have been sold already IMHO.

[Disgrace]

Feels inevitable HAAS need to make a change, I don’t think many western countries will fancy that car plodding around..

Also, I Mazepin Snr likely to be hit by economic sanctions ?

 

He is also a billionaire, his money is almost certainly offshore, and the effectiveness of sanctions against their intended targets is alas highly questionable.

 

While I could be very wrong, Haas could probably continue to take Mazepin money but they will need to be much more discreet about it via a new livery.

[ANF]

Pretty sure they removed "Uralkali" from their Twitter username already
 
https://twitter.com/HaasF1Team

So they have nothing to do with Russia now

 

I'd say ban the livery – or boo them!

[ensign14]

Would this put Mazepin's place in the team at risk at all? I ask this genuinely: I don't know how the Haas finances work these days.

Well, he should absolutely be banned.  No Russian should be allowed to participate in any sport at all outside Russia, just as no Russian should be allowed to participate in any business activity outside Russia.

[JHSingo]

Haas is nothing short of an embarrassment to the sport whilst they continue to run that livery now. If they don't voluntarily change it, I wouldn't be surprised if they were ordered to. 

[William Hunt]

Maybe Andretti can buy them out

 

please no, I want to see Andretti on the grid with their own new team so more cars will be added to the grid

[William Hunt]

Haas is nothing short of an embarrassment to the sport whilst they continue to run that livery now. If they don't voluntarily change it, I wouldn't be surprised if they were ordered to. 

 

I actually find it a pretty car regardless of the resemblance to a national flag. 

 

Good to see that Mick Schumacher managed a nice number of laps during the morning session. And he set a pretty decent lap time too. Really don't want to seem them struggling at the back again this year and I would like to see what Mick can do battling in the midfield, I expect Mick to make a step forward this year with a year of experience under his belt.

[Squeed]

Depends on how much money Uralkali has on unblocked bank accounts in the West. SWIFT will be closed off, so it will be impossible to transfer it from Russia. 

 

Possible, but illegal.  Gene Haas has already spent time in US Federal Prison for tax evasion, he's not looking for another vacation at Club Fed. 

[Squeed]

He is also a billionaire, his money is almost certainly offshore, and the effectiveness of sanctions against their intended targets is alas highly questionable.

 

While I could be very wrong, Haas could probably continue to take Mazepin money but they will need to be much more discreet about it via a new livery.

 

No, there's no such thing as secret/private off shore accounts any more.  The international banking system knows where everyone's money is, and it is now illegal for Haas to accept Uralkali money. 

[Oho]

Would this put Mazepin's place in the team at risk at all? I ask this genuinely: I don't know how the Haas finances work these days.

 

Mazepin's seat is in risk for possible visa denials anyway especially if his father is on sanctions list...

Edited by Oho, 24 February 2022 - 16:48.

[William Hunt]

They could run a Ferrari junior driver instead.... And ironically that could also be a Russian with Robert Schwartzman. Now Schwartzman did receive SMP backing in the past but he is a Ferrari payroll driver now so I don't see any problem with Schwartzman taking that seat as a Ferrari junior as long as SMP isn't involved in it.
 

Antonio Giovinazzi could also be a candidate, but that would mean that he would have to stop his Formula E contract.

Edited by William Hunt, 24 February 2022 - 16:40.

[Oho]

They could run a Ferrari junior driver instead.... And ironically that could also be a Russian with Robert Schwartzman. Now Schwartzman did receive SMP backing in the past but he is a Ferrari payroll driver now so I don't see any problem with Schwartzman taking that seat as a Ferrari junior as long as SMP isn't involved in it .

 

Well he might also have visa problems for some races... 

 

In one fell swoop Russia just relegated itself into North Korea category..

Edited by Oho, 24 February 2022 - 16:42.

[eibyyz]

Wondering if they have a Plan B ready.

The Russian-Ucraine situation has been worsening for a few weeks now, the latest developments are not a surprise.

 

Rich Energy to be back? 

 

Essex Petroleum on line one...DC Solar on line two...

[Risil]

Haas probably has the money and ran the team as an advert for his CNC tools for some time. I doubt this has come as a real surprise for anyone within Gene Haas's empire but it does raise more question marks about their participation (if they could've got a title sponsor that wasn't at risk of geopolitical fallout, they probably would've).

I would expect F1's franchise model to help a bit here, there's much less incentive for Gene to cut and run if he can still get a big pay day from keeping his team viable and selling it to a good owner.

[Anderis]

I do wonder if they'll have to repaint their car, which is literally a Russian flag on wheels.

No, they won't. Haas car is not any more of a Russian flag than Aston Martin is 1977-2011 Libyan flag.

National symbols are national symbols by law only if they follow set proportions, which is obviously not the case with Haas livery. For example, in Poland it's illegal to write anything on a national flag, yet during sporting events, hundreds of fans always turn up with "Polish" flags with some text on it and they're not punished because a flag with a white and a red stripe is not automatically a Polish flag if it doesn't follow the exact description written in constitution.

 

Would be a funny twist if Haas responded by painting their car in Ukrainian national colours, though.

[William Hunt]

Well he might also have visa problems for some races... 

 

It wouldn't be fair if individual sportsmen would be targeted with visa problems. We don't even know their ideology. I'm thinking also about tennis players like Daniil Medvedev. His carreer shouldn't suffer from it, for all we know he might be against Putin. Same for Schwartzman who is in the end employed by Ferrari now and not by a Russian company.

[Disgrace]

No, there's no such thing as secret/private off shore accounts any more.  The international banking system knows where everyone's money is, and it is now illegal for Haas to accept Uralkali money. 

 

Really? You can for instance buy UK property via an offshore company and barring Panama/Pandora Papers leaks, remain anonymous. Literal trillions sit in the British Virgin Islands alone.

 

But I'm inclined to agree that the sanctions will exclude Western companies from doing business with the affected entities. Which is a problem for Haas.

[William Hunt]

Possible, but illegal.  Gene Haas has already spent time in US Federal Prison for tax evasion, he's not looking for another vacation at Club Fed. 

 

Maybe he liked the food there

 

Anyway, someone mentioned that Uralkali was removed from the Haas F1 twitter account name but.... was it ever there in the first place?
Because on their website the Uralkali name & logo's are still present:
https://www.haasf1team.com/

[Oho]

It wouldn't be fair if individual sportsmen would be targeted with visa problems. 

 

Never said it would be fair, not that I care, but if restrictions are put in place there is no valid reason to take exception with Schwarzman or Mazepin for that matter...

Edited by Oho, 24 February 2022 - 16:53.

[aportinga]

If the car is good, 

 

[Pete_f1]

They are getting a lot of heat on Twitter

[William Hunt]

Well, he should absolutely be banned.  No Russian should be allowed to participate in any sport at all outside Russia, just as no Russian should be allowed to participate in any business activity outside Russia.

 

I disagree. What with the people who are against Putin then? Should they be punished too? Those are just the people that need our support.

Edited by William Hunt, 24 February 2022 - 18:04.

[AustinF1]

They are getting a lot of heat on Twitter

Good. If you lie down with dogs ...

[Squeed]

It wouldn't be fair if individual sportsmen would be targeted with visa problems. We don't even know their ideology. I'm thinking also about tennis players like Daniil Medvedev. His carreer shouldn't suffer from it, for all we know he might be against Putin. Same for Schwartzman who is in the end employed by Ferrari now and not by a Russian company.

 

I'm pretty certain that oligarchs like Daddy Mazepin are pretty unhappy that the billion $$$ businesses they've built over their lifetimes will be reduced to rubble thanks to Putin's geopolitical ambition and paranoia. 

[Squeed]

Really? You can for instance buy UK property via an offshore company and barring Panama/Pandora Papers leaks, remain anonymous. Literal trillions sit in the British Virgin Islands alone.

 

But I'm inclined to agree that the sanctions will exclude Western companies from doing business with the affected entities. Which is a problem for Haas.

 

But isn't that achieved with a complex maze of shell corps rather than anonymous banking?  

Edited by Squeed, 24 February 2022 - 18:41.

[player1s]

https://twitter.com/...917476587995136

UralKali will be gone from the car tomorrow at least

[thegamer23]

There goes UralKali

 

 

edit: beaten!

 

Edited by thegamer23, 24 February 2022 - 18:42.

[Topsu]

Hopefully Mazepin is gone next.

[Beri]

Jesus, that escalated quickly.

[Beri]

Hopefully Mazepin is gone next.

Because he invaded Ukraine?

[player1s]

And hopefully a backup for the funding

 

But if we lost Mazepin over this at least it brings something good to the world after all

[thegamer23]

Hopefully Mazepin is gone next.

 

Hardly his fault.

[Topsu]

Because he invaded Ukraine?

Because he's a moron, he's a useless driver, has no place in F1, and indeed has only ever reached his position because of exploitative oligarchy in Russia.

Edited by Topsu, 24 February 2022 - 18:48.

[Anja]

Because he invaded Ukraine?

 

He's there because of the money. So if the money's gone there's no reason for keeping him. 

[CSF]

I expect Maz will find it hard to get working visa's in Europe, so I expect it will be the end of him. 

 

Giovanazzi back already? 

[#99]

https://www.racefans...nding-from-car/

[danmills]

Andretti to eagle swoop in 3..2....

[Anja]

Giovanazzi back already? 

 

Alpine should cough up some change and get that seat for Piastri. 

[Disgrace]

I'm pretty certain that oligarchs like Daddy Mazepin are pretty unhappy that the billion $$$ businesses they've built over their lifetimes will be reduced to rubble thanks to Putin's geopolitical ambition and paranoia. 

 

You're overstating the effectiveness of sanctions, I am sorry to say.

 

Some oligarchs have been on the SDN sanction list since 2014. They're doing just fine, propped up by subsidies at the expense of the populace.

 

They're also not totally stupid. Their wealth is not sitting Russian bank accounts in Russian currency.

 

From what I understand, sanctions will make their business dealings and funding their pet projects like motorsport more difficult. But they're not going to dent their wealth.