Dmitry Mazepin shows up in the Bahrain paddock, sparking rumours that he could be seeking to return to the sport.

His company Uralkali previously sponsored Haas but was dropped - along with his son Nikita who drove for the American team - in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Other than what he was doing in the Bahrain paddock in the first place, the big question is how he got in there, for, much like race weekends, even for testing passes are strictly controlled.

Seemingly F1 and the FIA asked around but have been unable to discover who supplied Mazepin with his pass.

A spokesman for the Russian however told ESPN: "Dmitry was on a personal visit. He has remained friends with many people in the Formula 1 family and was happy to see them in Bahrain."

Among those "friends" in the "Formula 1 family" is Alpine boss Oliver Oakes, whose F2 and F3 teams at Hitech were sponsored by Uralkali, and for whom Nikita drove, finishing 5th in the 2020 F2 championship.

While he denies supplying the pass, Oakes admitted to ESPN that he was aware of the Russian's visit.

"Yes. I've said hello to him, I haven't met him," he said. "Yes, he's a friend of mine, yes I used to be together with him in Hitech."

"He was here catching up with another friend of his," he added. "It's nice to see him. I'm not going to go into that, the world's a crazy place".

Of course, the 'that' Oakes didn't want to go into is the obvious speculation over whether Mazepin might be a potential buyer of the Alpine team, he certainly has the money, even if last year's valuation of $1.5bn is not over the top speculation.

And then there's the presence of deal maker extraordinaire Flavio Briatore.

Quite how the sport would react to a Russian buying an F1 team - and we remain convinced that Alpine is for sale, the dumping of Renault being the first sign that the team is to be unloaded - is a mystery, but as we have seen in recent years, if the price is right little things like ethics, human rights and morality won't prevent a deal being done.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by meatball, 03/03/2025 15:26

"He's best friends to a Terrorist. He has no right being there. If the FIA is really interested in their image, they would have walked his oligarch ass out of the paddock."

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2. Posted by Simon in Adelaide, 02/03/2025 22:52

"As far as Trump is concerned, using corporate takeover-speak, Russia did not invade the Ukraine, the Ukraine reversed into Russia ..... now enter Briatore and Mazepin."

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3. Posted by Anthony, 01/03/2025 17:18

"With Trump leading the way in rehabilitating Putin, it’s probably only a matter of time before the American owners of F1 decide that it’s time to allow Russians back into F1 - team ownership and/or Sochi back on the calendar…..Just what we need to add to a calendar that contains Las Vegas, Miami and some Middle East countries with questionable human rights policies.

Presumably if the Russians promise lots of ‘entertainment’ over the weekend and lots of $$$, then it would meet the current owners business objectives. All rather depressing….

"

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4. Posted by Wokingchap, 01/03/2025 16:52

"Mazepin and briatore..... the perfect couple."

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Bahrain paddock visitor sparks speculation

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