EU General Court Suspends Sanctions on Former F1 Driver

The EU General Court in a March 1 opinion granted "interim measures" allowing Russian national Nikita Mazepin, sanctioned in September, to enter the EU to "negotiate his recruitment" as a Formula 1 driver racing under a neutral flag. The opinion marks the first time the court suspended sanctions on a person pending the main hearing of the case, according to the European Sanctions blog.

Mazepin's father is the chairman of Russian fertilizer company Uralkali, which was the main sponsor of the team for which Mazepin raced. As part of his broader sanctions challenge, the racer sought suspension of his inclusion on the EU's Russia sanctions list "in so far as those measures prevent him from negotiating his recruitment as a professional Formula 1 driver or as a driver in other motor sport championships taking place also or only in the European Union."

The court ruled that the matter of Mazepin's sanctions designation should proceed to a full hearing over whether the bloc had enough evidence that he "unduly benefitted from the sponsorship agreement concluded between Uralkalki and Haas F1 Team" and whether Mazepin still benefitted from his father's company when the driver was re-listed and Uralkalki no longer held this sponshorship agreement. The court added that the measures would likely cause "serious and irreparable damage" to Mazepin's career if they were not suspended pending the full trial.