Mazepin may not be free to return to F1 - lawyer

Nikita Mazepin is not necessarily free to start negotiating his return to Formula 1.

That is the view of prominent Russian sports lawyer Anna Antseliovich, who was once director-general of the country’s anti-doping agency.

Fellow Russian Mazepin and his father’s company Uralkali were ousted from Haas and Formula 1 at the onset of the Ukraine conflict.

However, the 24-year-old driver has just had European sanctions which prevented him from travelling to and working in the region lifted again after he challenged them in Europe’s Court of Justice.

Mazepin’s lawyers said he now has the right to "negotiate with Formula 1 teams" and receive "income in connection with racing activities and negotiations with sponsors".

But Antseliovich says it may not be as simple as that.

"It is difficult to say whether Mazepin will now be able to negotiate with Formula 1 teams," she told RT.

"The rules there are not quite the same as in other sports. After all, we are talking about commercial competitions, not representing the Russian national team," Antseliovich added.

"Apparently, there are some agreements in Formula 1 that other athletes are not subject to."

But she said the European court’s now repeated rulings on the Mazepin case is a "good precedent for all of our athletes".

"It is no secret that legislators in most countries, including those in the EU, pay attention to these verdicts in similar cases," Antseliovich said.

"Let’s not forget that he was on the sanctions lists."