F1 | Dmitry Mazepin possibly interested in buying Haas
The Russian billionaire is interested in giving a seat in Formula 1 to his son Nikita, and apparently his first choice is the American team
Russian businessman Dmitry Mazepin, according to the italian version of Motorsport.com, is in talks to buy the Haas F1 team. The main interest in buying Haas for Mazepin would be in having the possibility to give one of the two seats to his son, Nikita.
Nikita Mazepin recently won the F2 feature race at Mugello, and if he will manage to keep his position in the standings in the last 4 races of the season, next year he will be allowed to run in Formula 1.
Motorsport.com reported that last week in Sochi there have been meetings with many teams, and in particular Mazepin seemed to have showed interest for Haas.
In addition to this, apparently Mazepin seems to be able to put on the table an offer that would be very difficult to decline.
The other factor linked to this potential negotiation is Sergio Perez's future, after the announcement of the engagement of Sebastian Vettel in Racing Point from next year.
This possible purchase of the team would be similar to Lawrence Stroll's acquisition of Racing Point, where in the same way he then choosed his son Lance as one of the two drivers.
Apparently, Haas was in talks to sign Perez for 2021, in place of Romain Grosjean. If Dmitry Mazepin however should really buy the team, this deal could be cancelled.
The report indeed stresses: "Infact, some negotiations that seemed to be concluded by now have been frozen. Should Haas consider Mazepin’s candidacy, the negotiations involving Sergio Perez will be at risk, with the Mexican forced to knock elsewhere, perhaps even at the doors of teams that are officially already in full ranks".
Perez could be forced to knock even at Williams' door, where the two drivers Russell and Latifi are not out of contract, but the recent buyout from Dorilton Capital could change the situation.
"The change of ownership of the English team makes the contracts with its drivers less cemented than one might think", concludes the report.
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