Ukraine urges FIA to ban Russian drivers from international motorsport!

Ukraine motorsport authorities are calling on the FIA to ban from international competitions all Russian and Belarusian drivers.

Amid an escalation of the crisis in Ukraine which was invaded last week by Russia, the country is rallying as much support as it can to widen the net of sanctions against its belligerent neighbor, its businesses and its oiligarchs.

The USA and the European Union along with several other nations have already hit hard Russia with economic and financial sanctions, with more restrictions pending.

But the international efforts are also spilling into the sporting world, with Formula 1 announcing last week the cancellation of the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi, while the country has also been stripped of football's Champions League final.

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The Haas F1 team appears to have severed its ties with Uralkali, its Russian title sponsor, a move that does not bode well for the F1 future of its driver Nikita Mazepin.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem wrote to Ukraine motorsport federation president Leonid Kostyuchenko guaranteeing his personal "full support and the support of the FIA".

Kostyuchenko responded with a proposal on behalf of FAU members requesting that the FIA impose a ban on all Russian and Belarusian licence holders from taking part in competitions outside the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.

Such a ban would prevent Mazepin – who holds a Russian licence - from returning to the grid this season, while it would also impact the racing programmes of many other Russian and Belarusian drivers, like ex-F1 racer Daniil Kvyat who is signed up to race in the 2022 WEC with Russian outfit G-Drive.

Ukraine is also calling on the FIA to expel all the members of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus from its institution and its various commissions.

The FIA has yet to respond to Ukraine's appeal, but the demands represent another major test of Ben Sulayem's leadership of motorsport's governing body that follows the controversy that surrounded last year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Update:

Late on Monday, the FIA published a statement announcing that an extraordinary meeting of the WMSC has been scheduled for Tuesday.

"An extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council will be convened tomorrow to discuss matters relating to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Further updates will be given following the meeting."

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