A 15-year-old Russian karting champion has apologized for being “stupid” after performing a Nazi salute on the podium following his victory in the first round of the European Championship in Portugal.
Artem Severiukhin has been dropped from his Ward Racing team, while the world motorsport governing body, the FIA, has announced it has launched an investigation into the matter.
In video footage of the incident, Severiukhin, a Russian flying the Italian flag, smacks his chest twice and then appears to make the gesture before dissolving into a fit of giggles.
Severiukhin on Monday published a video message on the Russian Automobile Federation’s Telegram channel, in which he said in quotation marks translated via Championat.ru: “I want to apologize for what happened yesterday at the European Karting Championship.”
“As I stood on the podium, I performed what many took to be a Nazi salute,” Severiukhim said. “But that’s not true – I never supported Nazism and I consider it one of the worst crimes against humanity.”
He explained his chest taps as a routine way of expressing gratitude, adding, “I can’t explain how everything else happened. I know it’s my fault, I know I’m stupid and I’m ready to be punished. But please understand that with this gesture I did not support either National Socialism or fascism.”
Severiukhin was allowed to race under the Italian flag to avoid sporting sanctions against his home country following its invasion of Ukraine.
The FIA confirmed an “immediate investigation” into what it saw as “unacceptable conduct” by Severiukhin, while his team, Ward Racing, said it would no longer have any relationship with the teenager.
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In a statement, the Sweden-based team said: “Artem Severiukhin’s actions during the awards ceremony on April 10, 2022 were solely individual and in no way represent the views and values of Ward Racing.
“On the contrary, Ward Racing stands with the international community condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and expresses its solidarity with the people suffering from this unprovoked and horrific attack. Based on these considerations, Ward Racing sees no opportunity to continue working with Artem Severiukhin and will terminate his racing contract.”
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