Former Formula One driver Nikita Mazepin should be removed from a list of people sanctioned by the EU after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU General Court said on Wednesday.

The Luxembourg court said that the family connection with his father, Russian businessperson Dmitry Mazepin, was insufficient for him to be regarded as being linked to his father by common interests. Therefore, asked that he should not to be maintained on those lists.

Mazepin’s father, Dmitriy, has a majority stake in the mining company Uralkali and was the former majority stakeholder in its subsidiary, Uralchem.

He is said to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ordered the ongoing invasion.

After the start of the invasion, the Mazepins were put on the EU sanctions list along with around 2,000 other people and organisations. Their assets were frozen, and entry into the EU was prohibited.

The EU said at the time that Nikita was a “natural person’’ to be added to the list because of the family connection.

Nikita Mazepin lost his place at the Haas F1 team, where he had driven since 2021, which also dropped Uralkali as one of its sponsors.

He contested being on the list, and the court said that since he no longer drives for Haas and Uralkali, he is also not a sponsor of the team.

He was only on the family connection list, which was insufficient. The court had last year annulled EU sanctions against the mother of the late Wagner military group leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, for the same reason.

Others, like former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, have failed in their lawsuits against the EU sanctions. 

(dpa/NAN)