Haas adamant it can survive in F1 without Mazepin backing

Haas team principal Guenter Steiner has insisted the team will be able to compete in F1 without the funds provided by Uralkali should ties be severed.

The partnership with the fertiliser producer and exporter, owned by Russian oligarch Dmitry Mazepin, has been thrown into uncertainty along with son Nikita's own future in F1 as a result of the globally condemned Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Haas removed Uralkali's logos and the red and blue Russian striping from the VF-22 for the final day of testing last week. The livery is certain to change given instructions from the FIA after an extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council.

The sponsorship issue is the second to hit Haas in its short F1 tenure as it struggled financially in the wake of the Rich Energy debacle in 2019.

Speaking after the team switched to a plain white livery during testing, Steiner said: "We had to take the decision. We have got more partners now as well. This was the right decision to take.

"There is no setback for the competition side of the team because of this, none at all. We just need to go through the commercial issues. It just adds to the to-do list, nothing more."

Asked how much of a headache a potential financial hit would cause, Steiner replied: "It is a headache because it is work but it is not something which disturbs the team on the competition side and financially, we are ok.

"It has no implementation on the team, how we are running it, how we are doing, how we plan the season.

"There are more ways to get the funding so there is no issue with that one."

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