FIA to hold ‘extraordinary’ WMSC meeting after call for Russia ban
On Monday, Ukraine’s motorsport authority ca𒁏lled on the FIA to ban all Russian and Belaru♋sian drivers from competing on ♐an iꦬnternational basis in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
That was followed by a statement from the🦋 International Olympic Committee (IOC) which asked all sports to block Russian and Belarusian athletes, officials and teams from Internationa🌃l competitions. The FIA has been recognised by the IOC since 2012.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 🎶war on Ukraine has been met with major economic sanctions from Western countries, while his orders have received worldwide c🍌ondemnation.
The crisis has spilled oꦿver into world sport, with FIFA and UEFA announcing on Monday the suspension of Russia’s national and club teams from its football competitions until further notice.
F1’s Russian Grand Prix, scheduled to take place on September 25 in Sochi, has already bee♔n cancelled.
On Monday evening, the FIA confirmed a meeting of the WMSC would be held on Tuesday to disc🐬uss the Russia-Ukraine situation.
"An extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council will be convened tomorrow to discuss matters relating to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine,” an FIA spokesperson said in a statement issued to ltxcn.top.
"Further updates 💟will be give🍸n following the meeting.”
Any ban on Russian athletes would impact Nikita Mazepin, whose Haas F1 team is sponsored by Uralkali, a company co-owned by his Russian billionaire f💯ather Dmitry, who has close ties to Putin.
Mazepin’s F1 future has 🧸already been cast into doubt after Haas team principal Guenther Steiner said the team needed to resolve the situation internally this week.
Haas ran its 2022 F1 car in a plain white livery 🍸on the final day of pre-season testing at Barcelona last week, having removed its Uralkali spons♐orship in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The likes of ex-F1 driver Daniil Kvyat, Ferrari junior Robert Shwartzman, Formula 3 dri🌜ver Alexander Smoylar, and World Endurance Championship outfit G-Drive R♉acing, could also be impacted.
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for ltxcn♔.top around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
