The Official F1 2025 silly season *contains speculation*

[TheDeuce]

stemll said:

thegreenhell said:

Mazepin (jnr) was recently taken off the EU sanctions list.

Still on the UK sanctions list though so might make trips to Enstone tricky. He was denied entry to the UK last year and nothing has changed since then.

It should be reasonably easy to fight the UK sanction now though, unless a UK court can demonstrate that the basis of the EU decision is without merit - which will be difficult. The problem is he shouldn't be judged by association to his father alone. In an different situation, he could be estranged from his father and be a political activist against Putin - should the sanctions apply to him then 'just because Dad'? That's the problem with blame by association, it doesn't always make sense and therefore is difficult to defend as a blanket justification for sanctions.

It depends how serious he and the family are about getting him back into the world of motorsport/F1. Recent events suggest there is that intent.

[Leithen]

Not that I feel any sympathy for Mazepin Snr, but it's a choice of supporting Putin or stepping out of a very high window.

Some awkward decisions for Liberty if he is going to be the money behind an Alpine takeover. Don't expect them to care though given HAAS.

[stemll]

TheDeuce said:

stemll said:

thegreenhell said:

Mazepin (jnr) was recently taken off the EU sanctions list.

Still on the UK sanctions list though so might make trips to Enstone tricky. He was denied entry to the UK last year and nothing has changed since then.

It should be reasonably easy to fight the UK sanction now though, unless a UK court can demonstrate that the basis of the EU decision is without merit - which will be difficult. The problem is he shouldn't be judged by association to his father alone. In an different situation, he could be estranged from his father and be a political activist against Putin - should the sanctions apply to him then 'just because Dad'? That's the problem with blame by association, it doesn't always make sense and therefore is difficult to defend as a blanket justification for sanctions.

It depends how serious he and the family are about getting him back into the world of motorsport/F1. Recent events suggest there is that intent.

He is far from estranged and his dad is bankrolling it so, yes they should apply. A UK court shouldn't care less about the basis of the EU decision. If he still meets the criteria for UK sanctions then that's it. The presence, or otherwise, of EU sanctions is irrelevant.

Edited by stemll on Saturday 3rd August 18:04

[vaud]

stemll said:

thegreenhell said:

Mazepin (jnr) was recently taken off the EU sanctions list.

Still on the UK sanctions list though so might make trips to Enstone tricky. He was denied entry to the UK last year and nothing has changed since then.

There is no way any sponsors will want to be near him.

[TheDeuce]

stemll said:

TheDeuce said:

stemll said:

thegreenhell said:

Mazepin (jnr) was recently taken off the EU sanctions list.

Still on the UK sanctions list though so might make trips to Enstone tricky. He was denied entry to the UK last year and nothing has changed since then.

It should be reasonably easy to fight the UK sanction now though, unless a UK court can demonstrate that the basis of the EU decision is without merit - which will be difficult. The problem is he shouldn't be judged by association to his father alone. In an different situation, he could be estranged from his father and be a political activist against Putin - should the sanctions apply to him then 'just because Dad'? That's the problem with blame by association, it doesn't always make sense and therefore is difficult to defend as a blanket justification for sanctions.

It depends how serious he and the family are about getting him back into the world of motorsport/F1. Recent events suggest there is that intent.

He is far from estranged and his dad is bankrolling it so, yes they should apply. A UK court shouldn't care less about the basis of the EU decision. If he still meets the criteria for UK sanctions then that's it. The presence, or otherwise, of EU sanctions is irrelevant.

Edited by stemll on Saturday 3rd August 18:04

You have misunderstood. The current basis for the sanction is affiliation to his father. It doesn't matter what the specific situation is, because judgement hasn't been based upon specifics - it's just attachment to his dad, who is obviously sanctioned against.

That can be challenged and would likely be successful.

They would need to find a new reason to sanction him that didn't rely upon who his dad is - which is obviously a factor of life that nobody has any forward thinking control over.

You didn't choose your dad.

[Sandpit Steve]

TheDeuce said:

You have misunderstood. The current basis for the sanction is affiliation to his father. It doesn't matter what the specific situation is, because judgement hasn't been based upon specifics - it's just attachment to his dad, who is obviously sanctioned against.

That can be challenged and would likely be successful.

They would need to find a new reason to sanction him that didn't rely upon who his dad is - which is obviously a factor of life that nobody has any forward thinking control over.

You didn't choose your dad.

Well no-one is giving him a drive on his own merits, and no sponsor wants to be associated with anyone of his nationality - which leaves only his father to write the cheques, hence the problems.

[TheDeuce]

Sandpit Steve said:

TheDeuce said:

You have misunderstood. The current basis for the sanction is affiliation to his father. It doesn't matter what the specific situation is, because judgement hasn't been based upon specifics - it's just attachment to his dad, who is obviously sanctioned against.

That can be challenged and would likely be successful.

They would need to find a new reason to sanction him that didn't rely upon who his dad is - which is obviously a factor of life that nobody has any forward thinking control over.

You didn't choose your dad.

Well no-one is giving him a drive on his own merits, and no sponsor wants to be associated with anyone of his nationality - which leaves only his father to write the cheques, hence the problems.

Indeed. He can't be a beneficiary of, or business activities enabled by his dads money, even indirectly, in any country which uphold sanctions against his Dad.

What is less clear is if Hitech, who have received significant investment from Mazepin snr, amongst many others, can now be prevented from 'choosing' to employ Mazepin jnr, simply because 'some' investment came from a person that has current sanctions placed upon them. The issue is that Hitech is a going concern, has obviously been able to continue in the sport despite the sanctions, and is not officially under control/influence of Mazepin snr - even though we can imagine that in reality, it is.

It's possible a Chinese car company (or maybe even not car) could offer sponsorship.. It's perhaps not accurate to say that 'no sponsor' would go for a Russian driver with close ties to Putin.

[vaud]

TheDeuce said:

It's possible a Chinese car company (or maybe even not car) could offer sponsorship.. It's perhaps not accurate to say that 'no sponsor' would go for a Russian driver with close ties to Putin.

Possible but then you have the secondary sponsors who won't want the association, and let's not forget this:

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/dec/09/haas...

[TheDeuce]

vaud said:

TheDeuce said:

It's possible a Chinese car company (or maybe even not car) could offer sponsorship.. It's perhaps not accurate to say that 'no sponsor' would go for a Russian driver with close ties to Putin.

Possible but then you have the secondary sponsors who won't want the association, and let's not forget this:

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/dec/09/haas...

I'll ignore the video of him being grabby... That's old news, albeit pretty shameful stuff. Not really relevant to his future.

As for sponsorship, it really depends how much money they need as a team in order to achieve their goals. One major Chinese, or other friendly countries sponsor could easily fund the team including top three salaries for a season. They would also no doubt be able to get other minor sponsors from friendly countries. It really depends what motivates the sponsors, which in that part of the world won't always be obvious - there's all sorts of influence and politics at play.

Some sponsors might attach high value to their sponsorship being considered controversial and the subsequent press interest. F1 has had no shortage of controversial sponsors and dodgy drivers being indirectly funded to enter the sport at almost any expense. Hopefully the Mazepins won't find their way back in - but I wouldn't be all that shocked if they did!

[Leithen]

If he did get a drive, it would remove the last shred of credibility that Liberty think they possess.

[vaud]

TheDeuce said:

I'll ignore the video of him being grabby... That's old news, albeit pretty shameful stuff. Not really relevant to his future.

It's relevant in terms of sponsor association. I've been part of a team assessing an F1 title sponsorship and the drivers are part of the assessment.

You build a large dossier on all the aspects - history of the team, leadership, management, drivers, assessment of ROI, drivers, positives, risk issues, etc as it is obviously a large investment.

If Mazepin had been part of the assessment we did, it would likely have been enough to deal the proposition on it's own. Mazepin would be a red flag, even before the Russia issue - it's a lot about brand and values alignment, plus risk to reputation.

[Sandpit Steve]

An interesting car for Mr Bottas to post himself sitting next to during his summer road trip.

https://x.com/valtteribottas/status/18235121392916...

[PRO5T]

He’s a seriously underrated driver mr Bottas, him and Hulk would do well while they’re building themselves up at Audi.

[Sandpit Steve]

PRO5T said:

He’s a seriously underrated driver mr Bottas, him and Hulk would do well while they’re building themselves up at Audi.

If you wanted one driver from the current 20 to be a development driver for a new team, it would have to be Valtteri no question. He knows everying there is to know about the sport from a driver’s perspective - and spent five years in one of the most successful teams of all time, until very recently.

[hondajack85]

Sandpit Steve said:

An interesting car for Mr Bottas to post himself sitting next to during his summer road trip.

https://x.com/valtteribottas/status/18235121392916...

Haha just trashing the company car while he can.
Having said that he is probably the best driver left in a pool of available drivers.

[FourWheelDrift]

Jack Doohan will be racing for Alpine in F1 next year.

https://x.com/Formula2/status/1826877377089052698

[PRO5T]

FourWheelDrift said:

Jack Doohan will be racing for Alpine in F1 next year.

https://x.com/Formula2/status/1826877377089052698

New blood, great news and happy for the Doohan family. Jack and Pierre will make a great team together.

[Muzzer79]

Good to see a new driver being given a chance, rather than recycling old talent again.

So, just VCARB and Sauber left to confirm for next year then?

[rallycross]

Muzzer79 said:

Good to see a new driver being given a chance, rather than recycling old talent again.

So, just VCARB and Sauber left to confirm for next year then?

Agreed this is great news
Meanwhile sauber will be tugging around at the back while Bottas collects his pension - he should be booted out.

[kambites]

Muzzer79 said:

So, just VCARB and Sauber left to confirm for next year then?

Obviously it's not an official announcement, but Marko has said Lawson will definitely have a full-time drive next year in one of the teams. If one believes both Marko and the value of the current contracts that means at VCARB, but it would be a brave person who wagered too much on Perez still being at Redbull next season. Mot likely to me seems to be Ricciardo up to Redbull for one year while Lawson finds his feet at VCARB, then Lawson up to Redbull and one of their other juniors brought into VCARB for 2026?

It's a funny situation where it looks like Ricciardo is almost certain to either get fired or promoted.

Edited by kambites on Friday 23 August 09:14