Jean Todt has defended his decision to stay out of the Nikita Mazepin 'groping' affair.

Social media users have been applying intense pressure on Haas and Formula 1 to act on the alleged wrongdoing of the 21-year-old Russian rookie driver.

But FIA president Todt said it wouldn't be fair to take Mazepin's super license away.

"It's not easy to get the 40 points for the super license," the Frenchman Cambridge Union Society.

"Anyone who gets those points can be in the series, so to stop him would be discrimination."

However, Todt admitted that Mazepin needs to be careful about his conduct going forwards.

"Frankly I'm not happy about the situation," he said. "He has been warned that if the same thing happens again, the consequences will be serious.

"At the same time, it was something that happened in his private life. Unfortunately, he did not pay enough attention so I hope he learns from this."

Meanwhile, the FIA has reiterated that Haas' new 2021 livery, featuring the colours of the Russian flag, is legal despite Russia's world anti-doping agency (WADA) ban.

"We are aware of this case and are looking at it with the responsible authorities," WADA told Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

SID news agency quoted a FIA spokesperson as responding: "The CAS (court of arbitration for sport) ruling does not prohibit the use of the colours of the Russian flag."