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The FIA have confirmed Russian driver Nikita Mazepin will be allowed to continue competing in F1 under a neutral FIA flag.

Haas driver Mazepin, the grid’s sole Russian driver, will have to race under a neutral flag, ‘subject to specific commitment and adherence to the FIA’s principles of peace and political neutrality, until further notice’.

The decision was made following an emergency meeting of the World Motor Sport Council, chaired by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, on Tuesday.

Ben Sulayem, who replaced Jean Todt as FIA president in December, said: ‘As you know, the FIA is watching the developments in Ukraine with sadness and shock and I hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to the present situation.

‘We condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine and our thoughts are with all those suffering as a result of the events in Ukraine.’ 

The president of the Automobile Federation of Ukraine, Leonid Kostyuchenk, has demanded the FIA bans all Russian and Belarusian drivers from competing outside of their own countries. 

On Monday,  as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) called for all sporting competitions to remove Russian stars.

The IOC recommended similar bans be introduced by all sports, with the possible exception of the Winter Paralympics due to the proximity of the Games, which begin in Beijing on Friday. 

F1 has already cancelled the Russian Grand Prix, which had been scheduled to take place in Sochi on September 25, while Haas removed the branding of its title partner Uralkali for the final day of the pre-season test in Barcelona last week. 

The Russian fertiliser company is part-owned by oligarch Dmitry Mazepin, whose son Nikita races for the team. 

The 53-year-old, who owns chemical company Uralchem, has been a representative of Vladimir Putin’s United Russia Party and has close ties with the Russian leader.

Mazepin Snr attended a meeting held by Putin last Thursday following his homeland’s invasion of Ukraine and the pair have met for talks regarding Mazepin’s business, which he launched in 2007, in recent times.

The wealthy businessman’s current wealth is unknown but reports have suggested it could be up to £5billion ($7bn).Mazepin Snr served in the military as an interpreter in Afghanistan in the late 1980s. He has been awarded military medals by the Russian government.

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner said he could make no guarantees on the Russian driver’s future and said the issue of its Uralkali sponsorship is likely to be resolved in the coming days.

Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel said he would boycott the Sochi Grand Prix if it went ahead and called for F1 chiefs to axe it from its 2022 calendar as he became the first driver to speak out against Russia last Thursday. 

After initially stalling on a decision by saying they were monitoring the situation ‘very closely’, F1 officials decided to pull the plug on the race on Friday.

A statement read: ‘The FIA Formula One World Championship visits countries all over the world with a positive vision to unite people, bringing nations together. 

‘We are watching the developments in Ukraine with sadness and shock and hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to the present situation.

‘On Thursday evening Formula One, the FIA, and the teams discussed the position of our sport, and the conclusion is, including the view of all relevant stakeholders, that it is impossible to hold the Russian Grand Prix in the current circumstances.’

The loss of the Grand Prix came just hours after UEFA handed Paris the Champions League final at the end of the football season as sport continued to turn on Russia. 

F1 Aston Martin driver Vettel, 34, said on Thursday: ‘In my personal opinion, obviously I woke up again after this morning’s news, shocked.

‘I think it’s horrible to see what is happening.Obviously if you look at the calendar, we have a race scheduled in Russia.

‘For myself, my own opinion is I should not go, I will not go.I think it’s wrong to race in that country. I’m sorry for the people, innocent people who are losing their lives, getting killed for stupid reasons under a very strange and mad leadership. 

‘I’m sure it’s something we will talk about, but as I said as GDPA (Grand Drivers’ Prix Association), we haven’t come together yet.’ 

Reining world champion Max Verstappen stopped short of condemning Russia, but also thought the race should be scrapped.He added: ‘When a country is at war, it is not right to race there.’

F1 acted after CEO Stefano Domenicali chaired a crisis summit with its governing body, the FIA, and the sport’s team bosses on Thursday night.

It is unclear at this stage if the race will be replaced, but Turkey’s Istanbul Park has been mooted as a contender to fill the now vacant slot on the calendar. 

Liberal Democrat MP Jamie Stone wrote to Domenicali demanding the round is stripped from the calendar.

Stone wrote: ‘It is vital that the rest of the world stands united in condemning Putin’s actions, including international sporting organisations such as Formula One.Russia must not be allowed to host prestigious sporting events, so there should be no Russian Grand Prix this year.

‘We know that Putin craves status and recognition on the global stage. It would be an outrage if the world sees Putin standing on the F1 podium at Sochi after the race, as he has done in recent years.

‘I note with approval former world champion Sebastian Vettel saying he would boycott the race if it is held.F1 should follow their lead and cancel the event.’

Ukraine’s president has accused Russia of war crimes after Vladimir Putin’s forces launched what were believed to be cluster and vacuum bomb attacks on the fifth day of their invasion. 

In a late night address directed at Russia on Monday, Volodymyr Zelensky said there would ‘definitely be an international tribunal’ for what he said was a ‘violation of all conventions’ and added that ‘no one in the world will forgive you for killing peaceful Ukrainian people.’

In a panicked bid to reignite his stalled military onslaught, Putin had launched an indiscriminate bombing campaign on the eastern city of Kharkiv just 24 hours after local resistance had sent his troops packing from its streets.

Weapons rained down on the most Russia-friendly city in Ukraine – which sits 25 miles from the border and is home to 1.5million people – in a bid to break its will to resist.

The hail of bombs, shells and rockets which began falling at lunchtime left at least 11 dead, including three children, with homes and even a school reduced to rubble.

A military source told MailOnline that videos of the onslaught showed ‘cluster’ munitions – which are illegal under international law – had been used.

‘The BM-21 Grad is a multiple launch rocket system used for ‘area denial’, dropping cluster bombs on a concentrated area,’ the expert said.’It’s mainly used on enemy troops before an offensive. Used against civilians, it’s not only a war crime, but has only one purpose – to spread terror and alarm among the civilian population.’ 

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