In June this year, reports surfaced confirming talks between Alfa Romeo and Haas for a title sponsorship worth $30,00,000 for a year. However, BusinessF1 Magazine’s Lewis Webster reveals the much-anticipated deal has fallen through, owing to the actions of current Team Principal Guenther Steiner.
The deal was close to completion as Haas had plans of unveiling the new partnership during the Italian GP weekend. Owing to Steiner’s antics and his wish to see his own demands fulfilled, Webster reports the deal will no longer go through.
Guenther Steiner plays the villain in Haas losing out on $30,00,000
Haas has long been the team that always fares at the bottom of the standings in F1. As such, a partnership with Alfa Romeo, which came with an influx of $30,00,000, would have greatly helped them catch up with the rest of the teams in the development race. BusinessF1 Magazine‘s Lewis Webster reports the Italian carmakers wanted to choose one of the drivers in next year’s lineup as part of the deal. However, Steiner made sure to not let this happen by announcing the lineup before the deal went through, thus spoiling the deal between Haas and Alfa Romeo.
“There was one condition- that Alfa Romeo got to choose one of the team’s drivers. Steiner deliberately nixed that by announcing, in advance, that Haas’ driver lineup for 2024 would be unchanged. It was a cheap trick that has denied the team a big chunk of cash.”
Having lost out on a major amount due to Steiner’s antics, Gene Haas has even more ammunition to gun for the team principal’s credibility. The two have been at war for a long time, and with the latest ‘screw-up’ matters seem to have taken a turn for the worse within an outfit that is already struggling to keep up with the other teams on the grid.
The war between Haas and Steiner grows stronger
Following the popular Netflix series Drive to Survive, Steiner‘s popularity has grown immensely. Having become a cult figure, the Italian is at war with Gene Haas, where he is demanding co-ownership of the team worth $900,000,000 under the claim that he helped Gene Haas set up shop. Steiner also claimed to be the one who found the team an investor back in 2016.
The latest move by Steiner is one that has sent ripples across the Haas setup, and it looks like there will be major repercussions of the same. Sitting as the 7th-best team on the grid, Haas already has enough problems on their hands, and losing out on tens of millions of dollars will only add to the team’s misery.
