FIA opens investigation into Nazi salute

The FIA ​​announced in a press release that it had opened an investigation into the behavior of Artem Seveirukhin. Victorious in the first round of the European Championship karting, contested in Portimão, the young Russian with an Italian license performed what appears to be a Nazi salute on the podium:

“The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile confirms that it has launched an immediate investigation into the unacceptable conduct of Mr. Artem Severiukhin during the OK category podium ceremony of Round 1 of the 2022 FIA European Kating Championship at the Kartodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal . The FIA ​​will communicate quickly on the next step decided in this case. »

FIA Statement pic.twitter.com/rLIvW21PaK

- FIA (@fia) April 11, 2022

The young man's team decided not to wait for the result of the investigation, since Artem Seveirukhin's contract will be terminated. “Artem Seveirukhin’s actions during the ceremony were exclusively individual and do not represent the values ​​of Ward Racing in any way. On the contrary, Ward Racing supports international condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and expresses solidarity with the people suffering from this horrific attack., explains his team.

“Based on these considerations, Ward Racing does not see the possibility of continuing its collaboration with Artem Seveirukhin and will proceed to terminate his driver contract. »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9eEnuD1vdo

The pilot reacted on Telegram, one of the few social networks still active in Russia with WhatsApp. In this video to be found below, Artem Seveirukhin apologizes for a gesture which was, according to him, misinterpreted.