A 15-year-old Russian driver apologizes but denies making a Nazi salute from the podium.

Artem Severiukhin, a 15-year-old Russian karting driver, has denied making a Nazi salute on the podium on Sunday.

The boy won his event at the FIA Karting European Championship in Portimao, Portugal, and video footage shared online shows him thumping his chest and holding his right arm out during the podium ceremony while the Italian national anthem played.

Severiukhin, who was racing under an Italian license after the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) banned drivers from racing under the Russian flag due to the invasion of Ukraine, then laughed with those in the audience who were not on video. In a video message sent to CNN by the Russian Automobile Federation (RAF), Severiukhin said he wanted to apologize but said he did not make a Nazi salute.

"It's not true; I've never been a Nazi supporter. It is one of the worst atrocities against humanity, in my opinion "He went on to say that he was celebrating with the mob.

"I realize I'm a fool, and I'm ready to pay the price, but please believe that my acts were completely unintentional. Racism or Nazism was not supported."
The FIA acknowledged that it had launched an immediate inquiry into the "unacceptable behavior" and promised to "inform immediately on the next actions in this issue."

The RAF confirmed that it was aware of the incident and that "even an incidental expression of fascism and Nazism in Russian motorsport and among Russian athletes" was unacceptable.

Ward Racing, where Severiukhin had been competing, criticized his behavior and said that his contract will be terminated.
"The team's pilots are not divided by country or other factors.

The majority of pilots do not represent a country's national team, but rather act on their own "Ward Racing issued an official statement on Instagram on Monday.

"As a result, Ward Racing strongly condemns pilot Artem Severyukhin's activities during the award ceremony on April 10, 2022, as they are a reflection of unsportsmanlike behavior and an unacceptable violation of the ethical and moral sports codex."

Ward Racing, as well as all of the athletes and personnel on the Ward Racing squad, express their opinions in this statement. Based on these factors, Ward Racing believes there is no way to continue working with Artem Severyukhin and has decided to terminate his racing contract.

"Finally, Ward Racing wishes to express its condolences to anybody who was injured or upset as a result of the incident."