The Haas team did not wait for the week of testing in Bahrain to clarify in depth the break with the Russian sponsor Uralkali and the driver Nikita Mazepin, both outside the American team that competes on the Formula 1 grid after the announcement from last Saturday.
During the NASCAR Cup race in Las Vegas this Sunday afternoon, Gene Haas , owner of the Sterwart-Haas team and Haas F1, explained the decision to end his relationship with the company and the Russian driver, influenced by the invasion from Russia to Ukraine .
“There was a lot of intense criticism about the invasion of Ukraine and the situation became overwhelming. We couldn’t deal with all of that, our other sponsors can’t deal with all of that,” Haas told The Associated Press before the race started.
Many in the paddock regarded the departure of sponsor Uralkali as a heavy economic blow to Haas’ finances. In 2021 the team opted not to invest in developing the car in order to focus its tools and take advantage of the new technical regulations that come into force in 2022.
But Gene Haas wanted to clear up any doubts and, first, clarify that, contrary to what some thought, the team is his property, even though it had a powerful Russian sponsor.
“Haas has always been the title sponsor, I don’t know why people said it became a Russian team. Haas Automation was always in the car,” the businessman recalled.
Regarding the economy, he wanted to ensure that they will be on the grid, even without the budget provided by Mazepin. “We’re fine. We’re fine. We’d like to have more money, of course, but we’re fine,” he said. “This just gives us a larger negative number.”
Fittipaldi to test with Haas, but not yet confirmed for the entire 2022 F1 season
Pietro Fittipaldi, Haas F1 driver
On March 10, the second week of pre-season testing for Formula 1 2022 begins in Bahrain and the owner of the team has confirmed that Pietro Fittipaldi will be Mick Schumacher’s partner in the three sessions in Sakhir.
“Pietro will be there, that’s what he’s for, he’s the test driver,” said the director, who did not, however, guarantee that the Brazilian will compete in the first race of the world championship, which will be held on March 20 at the same circuit.
“We are in the process of looking at several candidates, we will see who is available and what we have to deal with.”
