Mazepin takes F1 legal fight to Canada

Nikita Mazepin is taking his fight for the right to return to Formula 1 to Canada.

Recently, having been ousted by Haas and then restricted by the FIA at the outset of the Ukraine conflict, the Russian driver took his case to Europe’s court of justice - and won.

The court said Mazepin, whose father and backer Dmitry was directly named in western sanctions, can now return to Europe to "negotiate his employment as a professional Formula 1 driver".

CTV News now reports that the 24-year-old driver is taking the Canadian government to Federal Court so that foreign affairs minister Melanie Joly removes him from the sanctions list.

Nikita himself is named on the Canadian sanctions list and therefore he cannot race in the country.

On the court’s notice of application filing, Mazepin is described as a "young sportsman and professional motorsport driver who is in no way involved in the aggression suffered by Ukraine".

However, it is claimed the sanctions "catastrophically reduce" his ability to be considered by F1 teams as the sport races each year in Montreal.

The filings say that if Mazepin is blocked from racing in Formula 1 in 2024, it will then be "extremely difficult, if not impossible, for him to be recruited again as an F1 driver or as a driver in other motorsport championships".