Manoah2u wrote: ↑08 Mar 2021, 12:57
We've had worse teams that didn't even make the grid though.
Either way, i don't think anything will come of this. Some money will be moved. There's an interesting documentary about the multiple tried attempt to murder a russian political oppositor, specifically pointing directions to corruption and rich russian oil billionares. It's smoke and mirrors, a facade.
If they do change the livery, then this has been nothing but a shameless case of russian self-promotion. Uralkali, Mazepin get a lot of media attention, it sells.
but they can't claim it isn't clearly present
https://preview.redd.it/fzb61hp67al61.j ... 8254337b53
Uralkali has used green-red colors before, and suddenly changed to the russian flag.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EvpqvheXIAY ... =4096x4096
Its a sad situation F1 has gotten itself into.
Expected more from Haas, but it's prostituting itself worse than Williams is.
The problem that you have is you have to extrapolate so it can fit whatever it is you believe, even if you look at the front wing you could argue that is a flag but sadly it is not, as a flag is rectangular, and is usually used as a patch or emblem on the team's/athlete's equipment. It is otherwise used in the form of a rectangular cloth you can attach to a flagpole or something like they do at the UN headquarters in Wien, Austria or at any embassy.
What Haas did is they simply put up the colors of the flag on the car, and it is obviously to represent Russia but that is legal according to the fallout of the most recent WADA rulings on this issue, you can freely express the flag's colors in whatever configuration as long the actual flag is not there. These configurations obviously cover sideways, horizontal or longitudinal strips of the flag's colors even in the same vein as that on the flag but I understand as long as it is not the actual flag then it is legal, it is a big loophole. It's like Carlos Sainz and Seb Vettel's helmets from last year, they have the national colours in a strip configuration similar to that on the national flag but it is a strip, all around the helmet and therefore to a flag per see even though it is clear national representation ut even that is allowed under the new WADA ruling. I know that sounds like bare technicalities.
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I also don't think it ever mattered what the Uralkali brand's colors were. I watched F2 and Uralkali sponsored Hitech GP and used White/Grey colors yet their brand logo is green and red, it is clearly ambiguous as it pertains to how they present their brand for their sponsorships. Similarly, SMP, a Russian company, sponsored Russian driver Schwartzmann and changed the PREMA colours to represent the colors of the national flag of Russia. BWT used the color pink for the RP cars and FI cars to promote their Magnezium water, yet their brand logo is dark blue.
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If it is an issue of morality then there are probably even worse things about F1 than a Russian Chem billionaire paying for a seat for his fairly talented son, not saying that these people do not ha ve a checkered history but just look at all the other BS in F1. One of F1's global sponsors aramco is owned by the Saudi monarchy, and Saudi is somehow hosting an F1 race despite some of the issues they have regarding human rights and funding local wars. At some point I just understood that money and/or results are the only thing that matter in motorsport and I just enjoy the races.
The thing I find sad is that Haas will probably struggle anyway due to lack of other significant sponsorship, like Williams, but probably without the same fate.
