Haas F1 Team Principal Reacts To Uralkali Dispute As Assets Look To Be Seized

Alex Harrington | Aug 23, 2024

Jun 7, 2024; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Haas driver Kevin Magnussen (DNK) races during FP1 practice session of the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports / David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports

Haas F1 Team finds itself at the center of a legal storm involving the seizure of its assets by Dutch authorities. This action stems from an ongoing controversy with Uralkali, a key sponsor the team dropped in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The root of the conflict is approximately $9 million that Haas owes to Uralkali. Team chief Ayao Komatsu has reacted to this news.

Initially, Uralkali had inked a deal to be Haas’s title sponsor for the 2022 season. However, Haas terminated the sponsorship right as the season was about to begin, a move that coincided with their dismissal of Russian driver Nikita Mazepin. Subsequent to their decision, a Swiss arbitration court in June mandated Haas to refund a part of the sponsorship payment received for the season.

During a recent FIA press conference, Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu acknowledged the debt openly:

“We accepted it. We’re not disputing it whatsoever.

“It’s a complicated process to transfer the funds across and we’re working on it. It’s taking longer than I’d like. We are pretty focused on making it across as soon as possible.”

On the other side, Uralkali has expressed its frustration with how the situation has been handled by Haas. In a statement to RacingNews365, a spokesperson from Uralkali detailed:

"We are aware that Dutch bailiffs, accompanied by police, last night arrived at the Haas paddock and took an inventory of all racing equipment and other property.

"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 June 12th with immediate effect and has been ignored by Haas. Haas has had over two months to implement the ruling, and, as was reported previously, Uralkali reached out to Haas’ representatives with options about how to make payment and where to send the race car, without ever receiving a substantive answer."

The Russian brand further clarified that there were no sanctions preventing Haas from fulfilling their financial obligations:

"There are not now and never have been any sanctions issues preventing Haas from fulfilling its obligations. Nevertheless, they have gone unfulfilled.” Following the authorities' intervention, Uralkali looks forward to closing out this story.

"We are delighted to hear that, following last night’s visit from Dutch authorities, Haas 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 Haas will move quickly to rectify the situation so that all sides can move on.”

The fallout from this dispute emerges just before the Dutch Grand Prix, positioning the Haas team in a precarious situation. With its equipment and cars restricted from leaving the Netherlands, logistical nightmares loom large, potentially derailing the team’s plans for upcoming races.