Haas team boss Guenther Steiner has confirmed that despite their partnership with Uralkali ending before the start of the current season, the team is not in a rush to find new sponsors.
The Uralkali sponsorship deal included Nikita Mazepin being signed by Haas last year after winning two Formula 2 races with Hitech, but he had a horrible season as he was vastly outperformed by teammate Mick Schumacher.
The 2021 rookies appeared to be racing together once more this season, but Russian president Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine caused the FIA to prohibit Russian sponsors.
Haas was no longer able to maintain a working connection with Uralkali as a result, and Nikita was fired along with the contract they had with Dmitry Mazepin’s potash company, Uralkali.
Following the breakdown of their connection with Rich Energy in 2019, Haas’ collaboration with Uralkali ultimately turned into another nightmare for them.
William Storey had agreed to put money into Gene Haas’ team under a contract that year, but the American team’s performance fell short of his expectations as they finished ninth in the Constructors’ Standings.
After Whyte Bikes accused Storey’s brand of stealing their logo, Storey became embroiled in a legal dispute with them. It later became out that Rich Energy had not deposited any of the committed funds into Haas’ accounts, and the collaboration collapsed shortly after the year’s halfway point.
That happened after Rich Energy inexplicably and mistakenly tweeted that they had ended the contract, so Haas would probably exercise caution before entering into another relationship.
“I would say the chances are average,” said Steiner as to Motorsport-Total.com. “We may have a new sponsor, but this is not at all necessary, we are focused on finding a title sponsor with whom we can cooperate in the medium and long term.”
“We do not need to resolve this issue immediately, this is simply not required.”
The Italian recalls that, in contrast to Rich Energy, they had a good working relationship before being forced to part ways.
“That remark is true only of Mr Storey,” explained Steiner. “We really got burned with that and it was a lesson for us, but the situation with Uralkali is quite different.”
“I never expected that something like this could happen and that events would develop as they did, from a financial point of view, Uralkali was a very reliable and solid partner.”
Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher, the new driving duo for Haas, are eighth in the Constructors’ Championship with 34 points, their highest total since they placed fifth with 93 points in 2018.
