In a ruling that was made on Wednesday, the European Union said that it could not justify the ex-Haas F1 racer remaining on a list of individuals that have had sanctions imposed on them as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
At the time, Mazepin and his father Dmitry were singled out as persons who were subject to restrictive measures, which included the freezing of funds and bans from entering the territory of member states.
That decision came shortly after Mazepin was axed by the Haas team on the eve of the 2022 season, when the American-owned squad announced that it had terminated his driver contract, and that of his backer and team title sponsor Uralkali, because of the invasion.
Mazepin, who has since returned to racing in the Asian Le Mans Series, had long pushed to get removed from sanction lists around the world but had been unsuccessful.
However, the EU has now changed its stance and said that Mazepin should be taken off the sanctions list as there was no evidence of there being any ties with his father beyond family links.
And, while his father’s Uralkali business had sponsored his racing activities previously, its backing was no longer a factor since he had lost his drive at Haas.
Source: Autosport