F1 Behind the Scenes: The Truth About Alpine and Mazepin

Mar.4 - Dmitry Mazepin was simply "catching up" at Formula 1's pre-season group test in Bahrain last week.

That is the insistence of Alpine boss Oliver Oakes, who knows the controversial Russian well from their collaboration at the junior racing team Hitech.

Observers in Bahrain were shocked to see Mazepin, whose Uralkali sponsorship and son Nikita were expelled from Haas at the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis three years ago, in the Sakhir paddock.

Some believed the billionaire was a guest of Alpine, but now it appears that he may actually have simply had a generic guest pass - meaning F1 and the FIA had no prior knowledge of his attendance.

Oakes admits he "said hello" to Mazepin, 56, who was with Nikita's younger brother.

"Yes. I haven't met with him," Alpine's team principal insisted.

"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. It was nice to see him."

As for what else Mazepin was doing in Bahrain, Oakes responded: "I'm not going to go into that, the world's a crazy place."

Last week, however, Renault CEO Luca de Meo insisted that Flavio Briatore arriving as a team 'fixer' and the end of the works engine program, are not signs that Alpine is being packaged up for sale.

"I am often asked by the press if we want to sell, but we have never wanted to," de Meo told AS newspaper.

A source close to Mazepin told a specialist outlet that the Russian was in Bahrain on a "personal visit".

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