Haas F1 Team boss Guenther Steiner has refuted suggestions his team’s 2021 livery is a response to Russia’s international sports ban.

A decision by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), and upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, has resulted in restrictions on how Russian athletes can be represented for the next two years.

Russia was effectively banned from international sport for a four-year period after WADA endorsed a recommendation that the RUSADA be declared non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code.

The four-year ban was reduced to two by the CAS, but with restrictions in place for international athletes.

Part of those restrictions is the prohibition of a Russian athlete from competing under the nation’s flag.

Haas’ 2021 livery brandishes the flag on its airbox, accompanying new sponsorship from Uralkali.

“No, we didn’t circumvent anything,” Steiner said of the design’s incorporation of the Russian flag.

“We came up with this livery already last year before all of this came out from WADA about the Russian flag.

“Obviously we cannot use the Russian flag as the Russian flag, but you can use colours on a car.

“In the end, it’s the athlete which cannot display the Russian flag and not the team. The team is an American team.”

Haas last year ran a largely white and grey design with red highlights, making the 2021 design a significant livery change.

Exactly how Mazepin will be represented for the coming campaign is yet to be decided.