Axed Russian sponsor wins legal battle with Haas F1

Haas’ axed former title sponsor has won a legal battle against the Formula 1 team in a Swiss arbitration court.

Uralkali, a Russian fertiliser giant, heavily backed the similarly-ousted driver Nikita Mazepin until the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in early 2022.

The company sought compensation for the terminated sponsorship deal through the Swiss legal system - and on Thursday the arbitration tribunal agreed that Haas had improperly ended the deal.

"The arbitration established the fact of breach of contract by the team and awarded compensation to Uralkali," Uralkali’s press office announced.

"Haas was also denied all counterclaims against Uralkali."

Uralkali continued: "The company expects Haas to promptly fulfil its obligations confirmed by the arbitration tribunal decision. The funds received are planned to be used for the development and modernisation of potash fertiliser production."