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The Haas Formula 1 team will delay sending its equipment from Zandvoort to Monza pending a resolution to a multi-million dollar repayment to former sponsor Uralkali.
Haas was due to leave Zandvoort overnight but its equipment including its two F1 cars will remain at the Dutch Grand Prix venue until Monday.
It cannot leave the Netherlands until a payment to Uralkali has been received, otherwise Haas risks receiving a significant penalty and could face criminal charges.
Uralkali took legal action against Haas in the Netherlands after failing to receive a repayment of money paid to the team before its title sponsorship was terminated by Haas in early 2022.
In June, a Swiss arbitral tribunal ordered Haas to refund Uralkali a significant amount of money that had already been paid when Haas cancelled the deal and dropped driver Nikita Mazepin on the eve of the 2022 season following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Haas was also ordered to deliver Uralkali a car from the 2021 season.
In mid-July, though, Uralkali issued a statement claiming it had received neither the money nor the car, and that communication with Haas had gone unanswered.
At the time, Uralkali called it a "flagrant violation" of the tribunal’s outcome, said it gave "new meaning to the expression 'unsportsmanlike conduct'" and promised to use "all means provided under the law to see that the ruling is implemented".
The company tasked a Dutch legal firm with taking action, and a court order was approved in mid-August to seize money and/or goods from Haas - which required waiting until this weekend’s Dutch GP.
Uralkali and its legal representatives did not seek to disrupt Haas's participation at Zandvoort, where its cars competed and finished 11th and 18th, but police and bailiffs were present at the track on Thursday evening to assess the value of the goods on-site.
Haas was also instructed that it would face serious consequences if it left the country without repaying what was owed - which Haas accepted, and pledged to resolve as soon as it could, but as of Sunday evening the process has not been completed.
The Race understands that Haas did initiate a payment on Friday, likely from its UK-based F1 company to a third-party account outside of Russia, but has not had acknowledgement it has been received.
The expedited resolution after legal pressure was applied suggests that the two-month delay was not simply the result of supposed complications around a US firm (eg Haas parent company Haas Automation) paying money to a Russian company owing to ongoing sanctions, as had been claimed.
In terms of leaving Zandvoort, Haas could take the risk that providing proof the payment has been made will be sufficient in the eyes of the Dutch courts, but has opted not to do so.
Instead, it hopes the money will clear on Monday, and Uralkali will confirm receipt, which will allow Haas to send its equipment on to Monza with a minor delay.
This would allow its preparations for next weekend's Italian GP to proceed without a problem. But if Haas's equipment remains at Zandvoort until Tuesday, that will complicate things.
If it runs even longer then Haas's participation at Monza will be in doubt - although the team remains confident it will not come to that.
