Filed under: Motorsports, Ferrari
Gene Haas is undertaking quite the initiative by starting his own Formula One team instead of simply buying an existing one. And he's making it even harder on himself by laudably insisting on quartering the operation at his home base in North Carolina. But to get onto the grid by 2016, he's going to need some help.
Fortunately that appears to be just what he's getting thanks to a new partnership with no less accomplished an outfit than Ferrari - which, despite not having won a championship since 2008, remains far and away the most successful team in the history of grand prix racing, with sixteen constructors' championships, fifteen drivers' titles and 221 grand prix victories to its name.
Haas Automation, the CNC machine manufacturer over which Gene Haas presides and which funds his various racing activities, has just signed a sponsorship deal with Scuderia Ferrari that has already seen the Haas logo appear on the F14 T that Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen drove in the British Grand Prix this past weekend. More than a sponsor, Haas Automation has become an official supplier to the Maranello squad, but is expected to lead to even closer cooperation that will help get the American F1 team up and running in time for the 2016 world championship.
So far, all the parties are saying is that "as a separate project, Haas is committed to entering Formula One with its own team, a testimony to the growing appeal of our sport in the USA and on this front, technical discussions are ongoing between us." Expect that to amount at least to an engine-supply deal like Ferrari has with Sauber and Marussia and which it previously had with Toro Rosso and Force India. But while the regulations prevent Ferrari from selling Haas a complete chassis, we wouldn't be surprised to see some scarlet-clad engineers helping the Haas team along at the beginning. It's not like they'll realistically be competing for the same slots on the grid, after all.
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Haas pens partnership with Ferrari originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 Jul 2014 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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