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Haas F1 has firmly rejected former title sponsor Uralkali’s demands for repayment of sponsorship money, claiming it is within its rights not to do so per the original contract.
The American outfit believes it does not have to repay the sponsorship money it has received, as the contract was terminated due to a breach on Uralkali’s part.
The team pointed to a clause within the original contract that states that Uralkali does ‘not injure, bring into dispute, ridicule, or lessen the public reputation and goodwill of the favorable image of Haas.’
In a letter sent to the Russian pesticide giant and acquired by Motorsport.com, Haas F1 said the following:
“According to unanimous legal scholars and case law, the party which terminates the agreement for breach of the other party is under no obligation to return to such party what it has already received under the agreement.
“The claim of Uralkali to obtain the re-payment of the down paid amount of EUR 12,000,000 is therefore ungrounded and rejected.”
The team terminated its title sponsorship with Uralkali last month following the Russian-Ukraine conflict and the subsequent sanctions imposed by the international community against Russian companies.
Following their split, Uralkali accused its former partner of terminating the contract unilaterally. The company demanded the repayment of sponsorship funds that it had already paid for the 2022 season.
In a statement released early last month, Uralkali said:
“As most of the sponsorship funding for the 2022 season has already been transferred to Haas and given that the team terminated the sponsorship agreement before the first race of the 2022 season, Haas has thus failed to perform its obligations to Uralkali for this year's season.
"Uralkali shall request the immediate reimbursement of the amounts received by Haas.”
Haas F1 withholds Mazepin’s salary and refuses to hand over his 2021 chassis
While Uralkali is demanding repayment of sponsorship funds, Haas F1 believes it is entitled to further payments from its former sponsor. This is meant to compensate for the losses it incurred due to the termination of their contract.
Furthermore, the team has also refused to honor its obligations under the original contract unless the payment is made. These include paying remuneration to former driver Nikita Mazepin, who drove for the team with Uralkali’s backing.
Additionally, it has also refused to hand over one of its 2021 cars to Mazepin as per the original contract.
In the letter sent to Uralkali, the team said:
“Unless and until the aforesaid amount will have been paid to Haas no obligation exists to deliver and no delivery of the F1 car will occur.”
Haas F1 is currently demanding payment to the tune of €8 million to compensate for its losses and wants the funds to be transferred within the next few days.
