Good grief, Carlos just had a rotten run of luck this weekend. Hopefully his luck changes before his home grand prix next month.
Carlos is at the point now where he has to finish ahead of Charles the next couple of races, if not win them outright to get back in the game fast. If Charles finishes ahead of him next race, its going to be hard for him, and for Ferrari to not put everything behind Charles.
Just caught this while catching up on weekend news. Guess he won't be driving much longer. Look at the statement at the end attributed to him. Multiple use of the name of the bad place.
FIA INVESTIGATING ‘UNACCEPTABLE CONDUCT’ OF RUSSIAN KARTING DRIVER
Motorsport’s governing body the FIA says it has “launched an immediate investigation into the unacceptable conduct” of Artem Severiukhin, a Russian karting driver competing under an Italian license.
Severiukhin, a native of Verkhnyaya Pyshma in the Sverdlovsk Oblast in Russia, claimed victory in the opening round of the 2022 FIA-sanctioned European Karting Championship in Portimao, Portugal.
The racer was then broadcast thumping his chest twice and throwing his right arm forward on the podium in a gesture that carried an obvious resemblance to the so-called Roman salute – a gesture adopted by the Nazi movement.
Severiukhin’s gesture, which he followed with laughter, has now caught the eye of a variety of international media outlets – and the tone of the FIA statement suggests it is quite likely to carry serious repercussions.
“The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile confirms that it has launched an immediate investigation into the unacceptable conduct of Mr Artem Severiukhin that occurred during the podium ceremony [of the Portimao race],” an FIA statement read.
“The FIA will communicate shortly on the further steps that will be taken in this case.”
The Ward Racing team that helped Severiukhin to the Portimao win said it will “proceed with terminating” the contract of the Russian racer.
The team, in a lengthy statement, said it is “deeply in shame of the pilot’s behaviour, which it condemns in the strongest possible terms”.
“Warc Racing would like to apologize to those who were hurt or distressed by the occurrence. It has long been and will remain a priority for Ward Racing to work for a more diverse, inclusive, and respectful racing climate.”
The Russian Automobile Federation is also said to be looking into the incident, as per state broadcaster Match TV.
Severiukhin raced under a Russian license in the past but competed in the Portimao European Championship round under an Italian flag – rather than as a neutral athlete.
Russian and Belarussian license holders are banned from racing under the flags of the aforementioned two countries due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine in FIA-sanctioned events, but have the option of competing as ‘neutral’, provided they agree to a list of demands and stipulations made by the governing body.
In her channel on the social media messaging service Telegram, RAF press officer Maria Melnikova relayed a statement attributed to Severiukhin.
It read: “I would like to address everyone. About yesterday’s situation on the podium. I won a round of the European championship and was very glad and happy. I am from Russia. I was thanking the team and my family from Russia. If anyone saw a bad gesture in my actions, that is not the case. I was just being thankful. I am Russian, I am from Russia and for my country.”