The youngster, who drives under an Italian license due to the racing ban for his country’s athletes, triumphed in the final of the opening round of the FIA Kart European Championship in Portimao, Portugal.
However, during the podium ceremony, as the Italian national anthem was played, Severiukhin pounded his heart and appeared to give a Nazi salute while laughing at the onlookers.
A video of the incident circulated on social media, sparking widespread criticism amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On Monday afternoon, the FIA said it would intervene when it announced a formal investigation had been launched.
In a statement posted on Twitter, the FIA said: “The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile confirms that it has opened an immediate investigation into the unacceptable conduct of Mr Artem Severiukhin during the podium ceremony for the OK category in Round 1 of the 2022 FIA.” Karting European Championship at the Kartodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal.
“The FIA will shortly inform about the further steps in this case.”
However, Severiukhin himself has denied giving a Nazi salute, saying instead he only celebrated with his friends and family, who were standing opposite the podium.
“I would like to address everyone about yesterday’s situation on the podium,” he was quoted as saying by a spokesman for the Russian Automobile Association. “I won the round of the European Championship and I am very happy.
“I’m from Russia. I thanked the team and my relatives from Russia. Someone saw a bad gesture in my actions, but it’s not. I just thanked them. I’m Russian, I’m from Russia and I stand to my country.”
Severiukhin’s karting team, Ward Racing, took immediate action in response to his actions and plans to terminate his contract.
In a statement posted to Instagram, it made it clear that it was outraged by what the youngster had done.
It said: “Ward Racing … condemns the personal actions of pilot Artem Severiukhin during the awards ceremony at the 10 Sport Code.
“With this statement, Ward Racing expressed its opinion as well as the opinion of all athletes and employees of the Ward Racing team.
“Because of these considerations, Ward Racing sees no opportunity to continue working with Artem Severiukhin and will terminate his racing contract.”
The Russian Automobile Union said it was also looking into the matter as it wanted to investigate the details of the incident.
“The Russian Automobile Union is clarifying the circumstances of the incident and the athlete’s actions, and is also analyzing the statements of the parties in this regard,” it said in a statement.
“The Russian Automobile Federation informs that Artem Severiukhin was released from the RAF and competed in the European Championships under Italian license, which is why Artem has the Italian flag on the record and the Italian anthem sounds on the podium.
“We also report that we consider any, even accidental, manifestation of fascism and Nazism in Russian motorsport and among Russian athletes to be unacceptable.”
Severiukhin is not the first Russian athlete to cause controversy at a sporting event since the start of the war with Ukraine.
Last month, athlete Ivan Kuliak wore a “Z” logo, which has become a symbol of Russia’s war effort, during a medal ceremony at the World Gymnastics Championships in Doha.
His actions are under investigation by the International Gymnastics Federation and he could face a ban from competing.