Paralympics rejects Russian athletes, a big difference to the FIA

The FIA, unlike other sports bodies, decided to simply allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to attend motorsport events. The question is for how long, because the International Paralympic Committee also reversed the decision.

On Wednesday, the IPC still decided that athletes from Russia and Belarus could compete in the Beijing Paralympic Games under the neutral flag. The Paralympic Games in Beijing start on Friday, March 4, so the athletes got some good news on Wednesday, but that decision was reversed on Thursday.

''Several countries are now in danger of not participating, threatening the viability of the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing,'' the IPC reports, and with that we see an immediate similarity to Formula 1. For example, the UK Motorsports Federation has already announced that Russian and Belarusian drivers are not welcome at events in Britain.

Should more countries refuse to admit Russian athletes, the FIA may well face a similar problem. The motorsport federation was already very careful with its sanctions compared to other federations, but it can still adjust them. The biggest victim would then be Nikita Mazepin, but for him it is questionable whether Haas wants to keep him now that sponsor Uralkali is being eliminated.