FIA Formula 2 drivers representing Russia looks set to race under a “neutral” nationality for 2021 and 2022.
With this year’s driver line-ups still pending, this could relate to Robert Shwartzman in Formula 2 and would definitely impact Nikita Mazepin in Formula 1.
This comes following a ruling from The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) relating to state-sponsored doping and cover-ups at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
CAS confirmed that it had cut the four-year ban proposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to two years. This affects the nation’s sporting representation in motorsport, football, and athletics.
The Russian Automobile Federation has now announced that it received clarifications from the FIA concerning the CAS ruling this week, confirming it would impact drivers competing in world championship series.
Russian drivers in all of the FIA’s world championships such as Formula E, WRC, WEC, and Single seaters – will also be prohibited from using national emblems, flags, or symbols, as well as the word “Russia” or “Russian”.
What has yet to be confirmed is if this does affect FIA Formula 2 directly as it is not technically an FIA “World Championship” and thus putting it outside the CAS ruling. We will keep you posted when we get clarification on this.
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