The Haas Formula 1 team is free to leave the Netherlands for this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in Monza after resolving a legal dispute with a former sponsor.
Uralkali, a Russian chemical company, had filed suit in a Dutch court to seize assets from Haas over a failed payment required after a partnership between the two entities was ended in March 2022.
Haas cars and equipment were held at the Zandvoort circuit following the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday until Uralkali confirmed on Monday that it received a reported $9 million and an F1 car from the American team.
“Uralkali confirms that we have received in full the payment owed by Haas (including interest and fees) following the ruling of the Swiss court of arbitration,” Uralkali said in a statement. “We have also collected the race car owed to us under the terms of the sponsorship agreement.
“As such, Uralkali has notified Dutch authorities that they may release Haas’ assets from arrest as an interim measure, and Haas is free to take them out of the Netherlands.”
Uralkali was the Haas title sponsor in 2022, when the American F1 team elected to cancel the sponsorship deal following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Russian company, which is also a fertilizer producer, had paid $13 million for the sponsorship.
During an arbitration hearing in June, a Swiss court determined Haas was within its rights to end the partnership, but the team had to refund as much as $9 million of the sponsorship funding it received.
Uralkali took action in a Dutch court after a missed July deadline on the payment but allowed Haas to race in the Netherlands. Haas said the payment had been made on Friday but confirmation was delayed over the weekend.
“Uralkali have now confirmed receipt of last Friday’s financial transfer and therefore our trucks have been given clearance to depart the Netherlands and make their way to Italy immediately,” Haas said in a statement on Monday.
–Field Level Media