BAHRAIN - The appearance of Russian oligarch Dmitry Mazepin in the Formula 1 paddock caused a stir on Friday.
Mazepin's Uralkali company had a brief stint as title partner of the Haas team in 2021 and early 2022, which included a contract for his son Nikita to drive.
The deal for both company and driver was terminated on the eve of the 2022 season after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Nikita Mazepin is banned from competing under the Russian flag, but neither he or his father have been banned from appearing in the paddock if they have the right credentials.
The curious part about Dmitry's presence, with his younger son Stefan, was that no team or F1 itself could confirm who had brought him in.
Access to the paddock requires a pass and teams are able to supply them - Alpine, the team which would have made most sense to have provided one, said it was not from them. Mercedes and Haas, two teams linked with the Mazepins in different ways, also said the pass did not come from them.
Both Formula 1 and the governing FIA, who are both able to hand out guest passes, said they had no idea how Mazepin had been given access to the paddock.
A representative for Mazepin told ESPN: "Dmitry was on a personal visit. He has remained friends with many people in the Formula 1 family and was happy to see them in Bahrain."
The representative declined to confirm who the paddock pass was provided by.
His appearance was curious given his links to Alpine, Renault's team, and the growing feeling in the paddock the team may be sold soon.
Renault has already started clearing house in preparation for that.
Former team boss Flavio Briatore was brought back to oversee the team's long-term future. Renault has confirmed it will stop building F1 engines beyond 2025 and Alpine will run a customer deal from next season.
Close Mazepin associate Ollie Oakes was also hired as team boss last year.
Uralkali was a major backer of Oakes' Hitech team, which competes in F2 and F2, while the Englishman played a vital role in overseeing Nikita Mazepin's rise through the ranks.
When asked about Mazepin's presence in the paddock, Oakes said: "Yes. I've said hello to him, I haven't met him.
"Yes, he's a friend of mine, yes I used to be together with him in Hitech. He was here catching up with another friend of his. It's nice to see him. I'm not going to go into that, the world's a crazy place".
Mazepin would be one of the minority of people in the world who could afford to finance the purchase of an F1 team during its current boom period.
Investments made in Alpine during the 2023 season ended up in reported valuations of $900 million.
Last year, Sportico estimated that Alpine's value had risen to the $1.5 billion mark.