The Alpine team principal acknowledges greeting Mazepin with a 'hello.'

      Dmitry Mazepin was merely "catching up" during the Formula 1 pre-season group tests in Bahrain last week. This assertion comes from Alpine's chief, Oliver Oakes, who is familiar with the controversial Russian due to their past partnership at the junior racing team Hitech. Observers in Bahrain were taken aback to see Mazepin, whose Uralkali sponsorship and son Nikita were removed from Haas at the beginning of the Ukraine crisis three years ago, present in the Sakhir paddock. Some speculated that the billionaire was a guest of Alpine, but it seems he may have just had a standard guest pass, indicating that F1 and the FIA were unaware of his presence beforehand. Oakes confirmed that he "said hello" to the 56-year-old Mazepin, who was accompanied by Nikita's younger brother.

      "Yes. I haven’t met with him," insisted Alpine’s team principal. "Yes, he’s a friend of mine, and I used to be with him at Hitech. He was just here to catch up with another friend. It was nice to see him." When asked about Mazepin's purpose in Bahrain, Oakes replied, "I’m not going to elaborate on that; the world’s a crazy place."

      Meanwhile, last week, Renault CEO Luca de Meo affirmed that Flavio Briatore's role as a team "fixer" and the conclusion of the works engine program do not indicate that Alpine is being prepared for sale. "I am frequently questioned by the media about whether we intend to sell, but we have never had that intention," de Meo stated to AS newspaper. A source close to Mazepin informed a specialized outlet that the Russian was in Bahrain for a "personal visit."