Former Haas sponsor Uralkali attempts to seize team assets including cars over non payment of dues
Former Haas F1 team sponsor Uralkali had attempted to seize the team's assets, including the cars, over the former's non-payment of promised dues. The fertilizer company was the title sponsor of the American team in the 2021 season, as they were the main sponsor of former Russian driver Nikita Mazepin.
However, the F1 team decided to end its partnership with the Russian fertilizer company early in February 2022 due to the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine. They also dropped Mazepin from their driver lineup ahead of the 2022 season and replaced him with Kevin Magnussen.
As per Motorsport.com, following a Swiss arbitration court hearing in June, the F1 team was ordered to pay Uralkali the remaining dues of $9 million. But Uralkali has claimed that the American team has deferred its July payments and has escalated the matter to the Dutch court this week.
The company requested the court to seize Haas's assets, including its F1 cars, during the Dutch Grand Prix. Bailiffs and police even visited the team's facilities in Zandvoort to evaluate the assets.
It was agreed that the team would be permitted to compete in the race this weekend as planned, but they would not be allowed to remove their cars and equipment from the country until all outstanding payments were settled. In a statement addressing the Uralkali controversy, the team said,
“Haas fully intends to pay to Uralkali all amounts due pursuant to the arbitration award, and there is no dispute over the amounts owed. Haas has been working with its lawyers to ensure payment will comply with all relevant US, EU, UK, and Swiss sanctions and regulations. We will continue working with Uralkali in the coming days to resolve this matter definitively.”
Uralkali gives their take on the Haas F1 dispute
The Russian fertilizer company Uralkali stated that they welcomed Haas's statements regarding their intent to work on settling their dues and making the payment.
Here's a look at Uralkali's statement: (according to the aforementioned source)
“This is the expected consequence of Haas’ refusal to obey the ruling of arbitrage awarding payment and a race car to Uralkali. The arbitral ruling was issued on June 12 with immediate effect and has been ignored."
“We are delighted to hear that, following last night’s visit from Dutch authorities, the team is finally paying attention to the arbitral ruling. Uralkali wants nothing more than to receive what it was awarded during a fair judicial process and hopes that the team will move quickly to rectify the situation so that all sides can move on."
As the Dutch Grand Prix weekend unfolds, there have been no official statements from the American team's management on track to date. It will be interesting to see whether the behind-the-scenes tensions will have any impact on the team's performance on the track in Zandvoort.