“The criticism of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was becoming unsustainable. Our sponsors couldn’t bear all this “. So is the owner of the Haas Gene on the starting grid of the NASCAR race held in Las Vegas, he explained why Haas decided to terminate the partnership with Uralkali, the Russian potash giant owned by Dmitry Mazepin, an oligarch with very close relations with Vladimir Putin.
Gene Haas, however, wanted to claim that although Uralkali had become the title sponsor in 2021, the US team has always had the company owned by Gene, the CNC, as its main partner: “Haas has always been the main sponsor of the team, the primary one, I don’t know why people started saying we had become a Russian team. Haas Automation was always on the machine – he added as reported by the news agency Associated Press – as regards our financial structure, I can say that we are not in crisis. It is obvious that we would not disdain being able to count on more money, but we are currently in control of the situation ”.
By Wednesday, Haas will make a decision about the replacement of Nikita Mazepin which will join Mick Schumacher in the 2022 F1 championship. Pietro Fittipaldi, currently test driver of the US team, is in pole position and could bring the sponsorship of Banco do Brasil as a dowry. Focusing on Antonio Giovinazzi, on the other hand, could allow a discount on the supply of power units by Ferrari given that the Italian driver has been part of the Maranello nursery for years.
