Navigating sanctions and export controls: A guide for Formula One teams

Why compliance matters

Formula One teams must navigate complex regulations from multiple jurisdictions, including the UK, EU, and US. Non-compliance can lead to severe consequences, including fines, imprisonment, and reputational damage. Ensuring compliance is not just about avoiding penalties; it's about safeguarding your team's integrity and operational efficiency.

Key areas of focus

Global compliance

Formula One teams need to adopt a comprehensive approach to sanctions and export controls when dealing with multiple jurisdictions. Ensure your team is not inadvertently violating rapidly evolving laws from different regions.

Risk identification

Conducting risk assessments to understand exposure to financial sanctions, trade sanctions, and export controls is essential. Your team should identify specific risks and take appropriate measures to mitigate them.

Financial sanctions

Teams should be vigilant about their sponsors and other counterparties to avoid financial sanctions. This includes screening for Designated Persons and entities owned or controlled by them.

Trade sanctions

Awareness of restrictions on countries like Russia and Iran is crucial. Teams should ensure compliance when procuring goods, materials, lubricants, technology, or services to sanctioned individuals, entities, sectors, or countries.

Export controls

Procedures should be in place to identify 'dual-use' items and obtain necessary licenses. Teams should manage export control risks by excluding 'dual-use' items where possible and minimising their transfer. Examples of dual-use items include advanced electronics, machinery, high-performance composites and alloys, and even software or technology used in manufacturing or logistics.

Sanctions at a crossroads: The impact of US policy shifts on the EU

Recent geopolitical shifts could significantly impact sanctions and export controls. The potential lifting of US sanctions on Russia might reverse the effects of the coordinated campaign with the EU, which has reduced Russia's economic growth by 5%. This change could weaken the impact of sanctions, especially in the energy sector, by opening another market for Russian gas and oil.

The EU would face increased enforcement burdens, needing to monitor re-exports from the US and transactions involving American banks and dollar-denominated trades. This adjustment would add pressure on EU leaders, complicating trade relationships with the US, and raising questions about the effectiveness of sanctions.

The lack of a central EU institution for sanctions enforcement and differing capacities among member states could lead to a fragmented stance. Increased due diligence measures could create barriers with the US, complicating trade amid political focus on economic growth.

The EU may need to centralise resources and share the enforcement burden, possibly through new structures. Easing US sanctions could lead to a divided Europe, with some member states decreasing pressure on Russia, undermining the bloc's united front.

Long-term sanctions are also in question, especially if the US pressures Ukraine into accepting Putin's terms. The economic cost to Europe might eventually outweigh the punishment to Russia, necessitating a revaluation of the sanctions strategy.

Fieldfisher's expertise

We are a market-leading Band 1 ranked sanctions team, and one of the few firms who advise on all aspects of sanctions and export controls. We have decades' worth of experience across the litigious, advisory, and public policy spheres of sanctions and export controls and are trusted by several teams on the 2025 Formula One grid.

Our team includes lawyers who have negotiated and drafted EU and UN sanctions regimes. We regularly advise global corporates on multi-jurisdictional sanctions compliance and have successfully challenged sanctions designations for corporates and high-net-worth individuals in the courts.

Please contact us for expert advice and support in navigating the complex landscape of sanctions and export controls.