Haas unable to leave Dutch Grand Prix as overdue bill leaves F1 giants red-faced
Haas' participation in the Italian Grand Prix has been placed into question following a bizarre development.
Haas have been unable to move their cars and equipment from the Zandvoort paddock as former title sponsor Uralkali waits for the payment of a £6.8 million ($9m) refund payment.
Uralkali came on board in 2021 as the title sponsor and helped facilitate the signing of Nikita Mazepin, but after the Russian invasion of Ukraine took place, the American team terminated the sponsorship ahead of the 2022 campaign.
This did not go down well with Uralkali, who had already paid a chunk of their sponsorship fee upfront. They duly sought a refund through the Swiss arbitration court and had a ruling in their favour.
The court ruled that while Haas acted within their rights to terminate the sponsorship, they were told to refund the majority of the £9.8m ($13m) fee paid by the Russian potash fertiliser company.
Ahead of the Dutch GP, Uralkali was still awaiting payment and after bailiffs were sent into the paddock at the start of the weekend to take stock, Haas acted, sending the payment.
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However, due to weekend banking delays, the payment had not reached the designated bank account in the Middle East before the paddock packed up on Sunday, meaning Haas' equipment and cars are being held in place as collateral.
Haas will now hope that the situation can be resolved before it is too late for the team to travel to Monza next weekend. Missing that race would be a disaster in their Constructors' Championship battle with VCARB.
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A statement from the team on Friday read: “Haas fully intends to pay to Uralkali all amounts due pursuant to the arbitration award, and there is no dispute over the amounts owed.