F1 news LIVE: Russian Mazepin set for Haas sack and Verstappen contract fallout

LIVE – Updated at 14:00

F1’s only Russian driver Nikita Mazepin, has been barred from the British Grand Prix this year and although he has been allowed to remain involved with Haas by the FIA - competing under a neutral flag - he is set to be sacked by his team regardless.

In other Russia news, Formula One will not be returning to Sochi after terminating their contract for the Russian Grand Prix and stating “Russia will not have a race in the future”.

Big news on Thursday came with reigning champion Max Verstappen signing a new contract with Red Bull, keeping him with the team until 2028. He still had two years to run on his existing deal, but the new paycheck bumps him up to around £40m a year - roughly on par with Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes - ahead of the 2022 season, which starts in Bahrain later this month.

Aiming to retain the drivers’ championship this year will be Hamilton and new team-mate George Russell, with Mercedes chief Toto Wolff making clear he blames Red Bull and the FIA for the failings of former race director Michael Masi last season.

Follow all the latest news and reaction below.

Formula 1 teams are launching their new cars for the 2022 season, as a new era takes hold.

2022 sees F1 undergo a significant regulation change which has led to a completely new era of car design, meaning there is potential for the grid order to be shaken up and for backmarker teams to challenge further up the grid order. The new rules will require teams to have nailed the finer details of the transition in order to succeed.

The regulation change has been devised in order to increase the quality of racing in F1. The return of ground effect aerodynamics is designed to allow drivers to follow one another more closely and