The dispute between the Haas Formula 1 team and its former sponsor Uralkali is entering the next round: the team’s equipment will remain at Zandvoort for the time being
The cars and equipment of the Haas Formula 1 team will have to remain in the Netherlands for the time being after the race in Zandvoort. The reason for this is the legal dispute with former sponsor Uralkali. The Russian company had applied to the Dutch courts to seize the team’s assets at the Dutch Grand Prix because it is awaiting payment following the premature termination of the partnership.
Uralkali is demanding nine million US dollars from Haas. The team insists the payment was made on Friday night. Owner Gene Haas said on Sunday afternoon that “everything is now settled”. However, Uralkali has not yet confirmed receipt of the payment, which was apparently made via an account in the Middle East.
This means that the interim injunction remains in force, which bailiffs enforced on Thursday after a visit to the Haas pit in the Zandvoort paddock, and the team is not allowed to transport the cars and equipment to Monza for the time being, where the Italian Grand Prix will take place next weekend.
Following a hearing before a Swiss arbitration tribunal in June, it was ruled that Haas must reimburse Uralkali a portion of the sponsorship payments for 2022 after the contract was terminated following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022
While the court found that Haas had the right to terminate the contract, it also stated that the American-owned team was only allowed to keep a portion of the $13 million paid for the campaign. Haas was therefore instructed to refund the rest of the sponsorship payments made beyond March 4, 2022, when the contract was terminated.
That Uralkali believes no effort was made to issue the refund until they attempted to seize Haas’ assets at Zandvoort.
On Friday, Haas had stated in a statement: “Haas fully intends to pay all amounts owed to Uralkali pursuant to the arbitration award and the amounts owed are not disputed. Haas has been working with its lawyers to ensure that the payment complies with all relevant US, EU, UK and Swiss sanctions and regulations. We will continue to work with Uralkali in the coming days to finalize this matter.”
Uralkali did not accept the sanctions issue as a reason for the delay in payment, claiming on Sunday that the funds had not yet been received and that no notification of a deposit was expected due to the weekend. Uralkali is also believed to be waiting for a logistical plan on how and when to deliver a promised Formula One car.
