Formula One Cancels Sochi Race, F1 Team Haas Drops Russian Sponsorship
Formula 1 had scheduled a race in Sochi on Sept. 25.
•
NBCUniversal Media, LLC
Formula One cancelled the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi, Russia in September and Haas – an American owned F1 Team – dropped a Russian sponsor.
Formula One says it is “impossible” to hold a race in Russia later this year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
“We are watching the developments in Ukraine with sadness and shock and hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to the present situation,” F1 said in a statement Friday. “Formula 1, (governing body) the FIA, and the teams discussed the position of our sport, and the conclusion is, including the view of all relevant stakeholders, that it is impossible to hold the Russian Grand Prix in the current circumstances.”
Meanwhile, American-owned F1 team Haas dropped the sponsorship of Russian company Uralkali on its car on the final day of preseason testing in Barcelona where Mercedes and Red Bull were the fastest in action.
Haas’ driving lineup includes Nikita Mazepin. He is the only Russian driver on the Formula One grid this season. Its decision to drop the sponsor came a day after four-time champion Sebastian Vettel said he would not race at the Russian Grand Prix in September because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Haas receives significant funding from Uralkali and had unveiled a white, blue and red livery that resembled the Russian flag.
“Haas F1 Team will present its VF-22 in a plain white livery, minus Uralkali branding, for the third and final day of track running at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya," the team said in a statement. "Nikita Mazepin will drive as planned in the morning session with Mick Schumacher taking over in the afternoon.”
Sports
Get today's sports news out of Los Angeles. Here's the latest on the Dodgers, Lakers, Angels, Kings, Galaxy, LAFC, USC, UCLA and more LA teams.
The car Friday had the word “Haas” in big red letters on its side.
Russia pressed its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital Friday after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides.
This is a live update. Click here for complete coverage of the crisis in Ukraine.
Paula Bronstein /Getty Images
Firefighters respond to a four story residential building after it was hit by a “kamikaze drone” attack early morning, Oct. 17, 2022, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Approximately three people were killed.
Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images
Smoke rises over the street after a drone attack in Kyiv, Oct. 17, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. – Ukraine officials said Kyiv had been struck four times in an early morning Russian attack with Iranian drones that damaged a residential building and targeted the central train station.
Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A Ukrainian woman is seen with her child after the Russian attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Oct. 17, 2022. It was reported that at least four explosions were heard in Ukraineâs capital Kyiv on Monday as authorities reported attacks by Russian kamikaze drones.
Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Firefighters work on a building destroyed by Russian strikes in Kyiv, Ukraine, Oct. 17, 2022.
Sofiia Bobok/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The city council in Kupyansk, Kharkiv, Ukraine, destroyed by shelling by Russian forces on Oct. 16, 2022.
Sergei Chuzavkov/AFP via Getty Images
Police examine destroyed cars in Kyiv after several Russian strikes hit the capital, Oct. 10, 2022. The strikes come two days after an explosion damaged the Kirsh Bridge – Russia’s sole link to annexed Crimea.
Sergei Supinksy/AFP via Getty Images
A rescue worker escorts an injured resident and her dogs out of a building after several Russian strikes hit Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, Oct. 10, 2022. The strikes come two days after an explosion damaged the Kirsh Bridge – Russia’s sole link to annexed Crimea.
Sergei Supinksy/AFP via Getty Images
People hug outside a partially destroyed office building after several Russian strikes hit Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, Oct. 10, 2022. The head of the Ukrainian military said that Russian forces launched at least 75 missiles at Ukraine Monday morning, with fatal strikes targeting the capital as well as cities in the south and west. The strikes come two days after an explosion damaged the Kirsh Bridge – Russia’s sole link to annexed Crimea.
Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images
Residents examine a crater following a missile strike in Dnipro, Ukraine, Oct. 10, 2022. The strikes come two days after an explosion damaged the Kirsh Bridge – Russia’s sole link to annexed Crimea.
AFP via Getty Images
Black smoke billows from a fire on the Kerch bridge that links Crimea to Russia, after a truck exploded on the bridge near Kirch, Oct. 8, 2022. The explosion damaged Russia’s sole land link with annexed Crimea in a symbolic win for Ukraine.
Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images
A local resident cycles past an abandoned Russian T-72 tank in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Sept. 29, 2022. Russia’s latest invasion into Ukraine has lasted over 200 days, with an end to the conflict nowhere in sight.
Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images
Destroyed churches seen in Bohorodychne village in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, Sept. 13, 2022. Russia said on September 13 it was carrying out “massive strikes” across the Ukrainian front line.
Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images
Destroyed houses seen after a strike in Pryvillya, Donbas, June 14, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, which are separated by a river, have been targeted for weeks as the last areas still under Ukrainian control in the eastern Luhansk region.
Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images
A local community art center is destroyed following a strike in Lysychansk, Donbas, June 17, 2022, as the Russian-Ukraine war enters its 114th day.
Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images
Ukrainian soldiers inspect a destroyed warehouse reportedly targeted by Russian troops on outskirts of Lysychansk, Donbas, on June 17, 2022, as the Russian-Ukraine war enters its 114th day.
Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images
The tail of a rocket is nailed into a pavement in the city of Lysychansk, Donbas, on June 17, 2022, as the Russian-Ukraine war enters its 114th day.
Maxar Technologies via AP
The Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, under the Donetsk People’s Republic, eastern Ukraine, May 12, 2022. Mariupol's last defenders surrendered to Russian forces mid-May after weeks of assaults below the steelworks plant, as Russia sought to solidify its influence over the separatist-controlled territory of Donbas.
Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images
Police walk among the rubble of a destroyed house in Bohdanivka village, April 14, 2022, amid Russia’s invasion launched on Ukraine.
Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images
Calcinated cars seen outside a train station hit by a Russian rocket attack killing at least 35 people, on April 8, 2022, in Kramatorsk, Ukraine. The station was being used for civilian evacuations at the time.
FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images
A picture taken on March 21, 2022 shows a view of the damage at the Retroville shopping mall, a day after it was shelled by Russian forces in a residential district in the northwest of the Ukranian capital Kyiv. At least six people were killed in the bombing.
Anadolu Agency
In this photo, newborn babies are seen inside their cribs in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 17, 2022. Surrogate-born babies cannot reunite with their biological families due to ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine.
Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images
The main television tower in Kyiv after it was hit by a Russian airstrike the day before, March 2, 2022.
Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images
Police officers pass by the wreckage of a building after reported shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 2, 2022.
Aytac Unal/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A man cuddles a newborn baby in the basement of a maternity hospital, which was converted to a medical ward and used as a shelter amid Russian attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 2, 2022.
Khalil Mazraawi/AFP via Getty Images
Jordanian nationals who fled the war in Ukraine reunite with relatives at the Marka military airport, Amman, Jordan, upon their evacuation by a military flight from Romania on March 2, 2022.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Distraught women and children fleeing war-torn Ukraine wait to cross into Poland at the Korczowa crossing, March 2, 2022 near Korczowa, Poland.
Abdullah Tevge/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Ukrainians work on a camouflage net for the army in Lviv, Ukraine, March 2, 2022.
Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images
Rocket fire launched by Russian invaders damages a five-story hostel in Vasylkiv, Ukraine.
Sergey Bobok / AFP via Getty Images
A Ukrainian armored personnel carrier (APC) BTR-4 destroyed as a result of fight not far from the center of Kharkiv, Ukraine, Feb. 28, 2022, a little over 30 miles from the Russian-Ukrainian border.
Sergey Bobok/AFP via Getty Images
A school is reduced to a pile of rubble after fight in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Feb. 28, 2022. The fight was only a little over 30 miles from the Russian-Ukrainian border.
Andrea Carrubba/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Ukrainian territorial defense forces hug in a basement used as a military base on the fifth day since start of large-scale Russian attacks in the country, in Dnipro, Ukraine, Feb. 28, 2022.
Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A woman stands amid damage due to armed conflict in Donetsk region under the control of pro-Russian separatists, Ukraine, Feb. 28, 2022.
Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images
A refugee sits by a fire after crossing the Ukrainian-Polish border, Medyka, Poland, on Feb. 28, 2022.
Andrea Carrubba/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
People construct barricades outside schools and public buildings on the fifth day since Russia invaded Ukraine, in Dnipro, Ukraine, Feb. 28, 2022.
Woitek Radwanski/AFP via Getty Images
Refugees from Ukraine gather to take a bus from the border crossing in Medyka to Przemysl, eastern Poland, Feb. 28, 2022.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Refugees from Ukraine arrive at a temporary shelter on Feb. 28, 2022, near Korczowa, Poland.
Maxar/GettyImages
A large deployment of Russian ground forces containing hundreds of military vehicles are seen in convoy northeast of Ivankiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 27, 2022. The convoy —which extends for more than 3.25 miles — contains fuel, logistics and armored vehicles moving towards Kyiv.
Chris McGrath/Getty Images
A boy plays on a swing in front of a damaged residential block hit by an early morning missile strike on Feb. 25, 2022, in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Pierre Crom/Getty Images
Firemen extinguish a fire inside a residential building damaged by a missile on Feb. 25, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images
Ukrainian servicemen ride on tanks towards the front line with Russian forces in the Lugansk region of Ukraine on Feb. 25, 2022.
Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
People gather in a shelter during Russian shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2022.
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
People clean out damaged homes after attacks in Yasinovataya (Yasynuvata) controlled by the pro-Russian separatists, self-proclaimed so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Children leave a damaged home after attacks in Yasinovataya (Yasynuvata) controlled by the pro-Russian separatists, self-proclaimed so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2022.
Emilio Morenatti/AP
A woman holds her baby as they leave Kyiv, Ukraine, by bus on Feb. 24, 2022. Russia launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday, hitting cities and bases with airstrikes or shelling, as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee.
Pierre Crom/Getty Images
Inhabitants of Kyiv leave the city following pre-offensive missile strikes of the Russian armed forces and Belarus, Feb. 24, 2022, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Overnight, Russia began a large-scale attack on Ukraine, with explosions reported in multiple cities and far outside the restive eastern regions held by Russian-backed rebels.
Sergei Supinksy/AFP via Getty Images
Police and security personnel inspect gather by the remains of a shell landed in a street in Kyiv on Feb. 24, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine on Thursday with explosions heard soon after across the country and its foreign minister warning a “full-scale invasion” was underway.
Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Ukrainian firefighters arrive to rescue civilians after an airstrike hit an apartment complex in Chuhuiv, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2022.
Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images
Black smoke rises from a military airport in Chuguyev near Kharkiv on Feb. 24, 2022.
Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images
Firefighters work on a building caught on fire after the eastern Ukraine town of Chuguiv was bombed,, Feb. 24, 2022, as Russian armed forces are trying to invade Ukraine from several directions.
Efrem Lukatsky/AP
A man stands in front of a Russian Ka-52 helicopter gunship that is seen in a field after a forced landing outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
A woman walks past the debris in the aftermath of Russian shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda
Ukrainian servicemen sit atop armored personnel carriers driving on a road in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
AP Photo/Sergei Grits
A metallurgical plant is seen on the outskirts of the city of Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. The city is one of many attacked by Russian forces.
Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
Smoke rises from an air defense base in the aftermath of an apparent Russian strike in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
Sergei Grits/AP
Damaged radar arrays and other equipment is seen at a Ukrainian military facility outside Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
Andrew Marienko/AP
People stand next to fragments of military equipment on the street in the aftermath of an apparent Russian strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images
This photograph taken on Feb. 24, 2022, shows smoke rising near the town of Hostomel and the Antonov Airport, in northwest Kyiv.
Efrem Lukatsky/AP
Smoke and flame rise from the debris of a private house in the aftermath of Russian shelling outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
