NIKITA MAZEPIN

The Haas Formula One team has cut young driver Mick Schumacher and will replace him next season with Nico Hulkenberg.

Kevin Magnussen has shocked rivals in Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying by earning pole position for Saturday’s sprint race at Interlagos.

Most Americans know Haas as the worst team in Formula One.

If things had gone according to plan, Colton Herta would be in Miami preparing for the fifth Formula One race of his career.

It’s been 40 years since Formula One last ventured into Sin City for back-to-back Las Vegas races staged in the parking lot of the Caesars Palace hotel.

It was quite the weekend in motorsports, which is typically the bit player on the massive stick-and-ball sporting landscape so eager for its own time in the spotlight.

More than a year since being dropped from Formula One, Kevin Magnussen topped preseason testing in Bahrain on Friday in his first drive back in the seat for Haas, making the most of an extended session just for the American-owned team. Magnussen, who Haas recalled a year after firing him when it needed a last-minute replacement for Russian driver Nikita Mazepin, benefited from an extra hour of testing when he had the cooler Sakhir desert track all to himself to set a leading time of 1 minute, 33.207 seconds.

F1 Haas Magnussen Auto Racing FILE - Haas driver Kevin Magnussen of Denmark attends the press conference ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Magnussen will make a surprise return to Formula One this season with the same team that fired him a year ago. The Danish driver was rehired Wednesday by Haas F1 to replace Russian driver Nikita Mazepin, who was fired over the weekend following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Magnussen signed a multi-year contract and will drive the new Haas car for the first time on Friday in F1's test at Bahrain. “I was obviously very surprised but equally very excited to receive the call from Haas F1 Team,” Magnussen said.

Kevin Magnussen will make a surprise return to Formula One this season with the same team that fired him a year ago.

The relationship between Haas F1 and its Russian sponsor and driver became untenable following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the owner of the United States-based Formula One team said Sunday. Gene Haas also said his team was financially stable despite the decision Saturday to cut ties with Russian driver Nikita Mazepin and sponsor Uralkali. The Russian fertilizer company is owned by Mazepin’s father, Dmitry Mazepin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Haas Formula One auto racing team terminated its contract with Russian driver Nikita Mazepin and title sponsor Uralkali, ESPN reported Saturday. >> Read more trending newsThe decision by the U.S.-based team, taken after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week, means there are no Russian drivers signed up to compete in F1 for the upcoming season. “Haas F1 Team has elected to terminate, with immediate effect, the title partnership of Uralkali, and the driver contract of Nikita Mazepin,” the team said in a statement. Mazepin joined Haas at the beginning of the 2021 season as part of a sponsorship deal with Uralkali, a Russian fertilizer company. The 2022 Formula One season begins on March 20 in Bahrain, CNN reported.

Russia Ukraine War Sports FILE - Haas driver Nikita Mazepin of Russia arrives to the Losail International Circuit in Losail, Qatar, Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021 ahead of the Qatar Formula One Grand Prix. Auto racing's international body, the FIA, said Russian drivers like Nikita Mazepin can still compete but a block on having cars in national colors would stop Mazepin's team Haas bringing back the Russian flag-stripe livery it removed during last week's testing. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, File) (Darko Bandic)KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — (AP) — The Haas Formula One team has terminated Russian driver Nikita Mazepin's contract “with immediate effect” following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The decision comes on the back of F1's decision to terminate its contract with the Russian GP. Haas also ended its sponsorship with Russian company Uralkali, owned by Mazepin's father.

Russian driver Nikita Mazepin has been dropped by Haas F1 despite the FIA ruling he could compete under a neutral flag.

Russian athletes have been restricted from competing in more sporting events around the world but the Paralympics made an exception.

NASCAR champion Kyle Larson is among those conflicted over the ending of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — (AP) — Nikita Mazepin will miss the season-ending Formula One race after testing positive for COVID-19. Reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi was not eligible to replace Mazepin because Fittipaldi did not drive in at least one session this weekend. Mazepin tested positive on-site at Yas Marina Circuit. A second test for the Russian also returned positive. The Haas team said Mazepin is asymptomatic but will self-isolate and follow “relevant public health authorities.”“Nikita is physically well," Haas said.

Lewis Hamilton had the fastest qualifying time at the Turkish Grand Prix but a 10-place grid penalty prevented him from extending his record pole streak.