Political sanctions against axed Formula 1 driver Nikita Mazepin have been dropped by order of the European Court of Justice.
The Russian driver, named in the sanctions due to his father's connections to Vladimir Putin, has been fighting to restore his right to travel, work and race in Europe since the outbreak of the Ukraine war ended his F1 career.
"The resolution states that the connection with his father, Dmitry Mazepin, was an insufficient basis for imposing sanctions," Russian news agency Tass reported.
The news was confirmed by the Russian agency for legal and judicial information (RAPSI, while other Russian reports said the lifted sanctions now mean Mazepin's personal funds would be unfrozen.
Mazepin told Tass that he got a "fair hearing" in the court, but added: "I understand that the legal process for lifting sanctions has not yet been completed, but this is certainly an important milestone for me."
Oksana Kosachenko, manager of the former Russian F1 driver Vitaly Petrov, thinks 25-year-old Mazepin should now pursue the American team Haas for unfair dismissal.
"I think the next completely logical step would be to make mandatory demands on the Haas team, which unilaterally terminated its contracts with Mazepin," she told Kommersant, a Russian daily business newspaper.
Kosachenko explained that Mazepin should seek "some kind of compensation for moral damage and, of course, financial compensation, because we understand perfectly well that an athlete spends a lot of resources in order to prepare for participation in the world championship".
