Police visit Haas in Zandvoort and must pay Uralkali

Former sponsor of the Haas F1 team, Uralkalihas filed a lawsuit in a Dutch court to seize the assets of the American Formula One team, including cars, over an expected payment they have not yet made.

Following a hearing at a Swiss arbitration court in June, it was ruled that Haas must return part of its sponsorship payment to Uralkali for the 2022 season, despite their agreement being terminated shortly before the start of the season following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Although the court stated that Haas had the right to terminate the agreement, he also stated that the American team could only retain a proportionate share of the sponsorship, worth around 12 million euros for the entire campaign.

That’s why, Haas was ordered to return the rest of the payment. sponsorship corresponding to dates after 4 March 2022, the date of termination of the agreement. It is assumed that the amounts to be returned amounted to 8.5 million euros.

Following Uralkali’s claims last month that Haas had missed a payment deadline, the Russian company decided this week to go further in the Dutch courts.

Uralkali demands seizure of Haas assets in Zandvoort – with a preliminary ruling in his favour -. As a result, bailiffs and police visited Haas’ garage on Thursday evening to look into the matter and assess the team’s assets.

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Nikita Mazepin, Haas VF-21, Mick Schumacher, Haas VF-21

Photo: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Although it was decided that Haas’ participation in the Dutch Grand Prix was not in jeopardy, the team was informed that You will not be able to take your cars and equipment out of the country after the race until the balance has been settled..

In a statement released by Haas, they explained that they are now working with Uralkali to complete the transfer of funds and said they must ensure that any payment is fully compliant with sanctions that have been imposed on several Russian companies.

The statement said: “Haas fully intends to pay Uralkali all amounts owed in accordance with the court’s decision, and there is no dispute over the amounts owed. Haas is working with its attorneys to ensure that the payment complies with all relevant sanctions and regulations of the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.”

“We will continue to work with Uralkali in the coming days to finalize the resolution of this issue.”

Uralkali issued its own statement on Fridayin which they said the following:

“We know that Dutch bailiffs, accompanied by police, arrived at the Haas paddock yesterday evening and conducted an inventory of all equipment and other property of the team,” said a representative of Uralkali.

“This is the expected consequence of Haas’ refusal to comply with the court’s decision to pay Uralkali a payment and a race car. The court’s decision was made on June 12 and came into effect immediately, but Haas ignored it.”

“Haas has had more than two months to comply with the demands and, as previously reported, Uralkali contacted Haas representatives and offered several options for payment and determining where to send the race car, but never received a response. “On the merits.”

“There have never been any sanctions that prevented Haas from fulfilling its obligations. However, they were violated.”

“We are pleased to learn that after yesterday’s visit from the authorities, Haas has finally heeded the court’s decision. Uralkali wants nothing more than to receive what it was awarded in a fair trial and hopes that Haas will quickly rectify the situation so that all parties can move forward.”