The Haas Formula 1 team seems to be out of the biggest financial worries, which is also due to title sponsor MoneyGram: Steiner explains the financial benefits
A little over a year ago, MoneyGram was announced as the new title sponsor for the Haas Formula 1 team, which should not only give the team security but also a better chance of finishing higher up in the world championship. Especially after the failed title sponsorships with Rich Energy and Uralkali, team boss Günther Steiner is satisfied with the cooperation with MoneyGram so far
“I would say that above all it provides stability,” says the South Tyrolean. “You can see that the team is very stable now, and there are a lot of families who live from the jobs in the team – and the suppliers [too]. And when you see that big sponsors, big companies like MoneyGram are on board, then you know that the team is here to stay.”
“At the moment anyway, we’re living in a time when Formula 1 is at its peak, so everyone thinks Formula 1 is the next NFL, but there’s stability and people have confidence that it’s a good place to work. And you can make improvements. And when you do something like this now – an upgrade this late in the season – you say, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.'”
Steiner: Gene Haas didn’t want to lose naming rights
The deal with MoneyGram was concluded for three years and is reportedly set to bring around 20 million US dollars into the team’s coffers each year. Steiner had already made it clear at the end of last season that this contract would allow the team to work towards the budget cap, which is around 151.1 million dollars for 2023.
If you look at the title sponsorship, however, Haas has chosen a different path to the Sauber team, for example, which has also ceded the naming rights to the team through title sponsor Alfa Romeo. “For Haas Automation, the most important thing is that the constructor name remains Haas,” says Steiner, explaining the decision.
“Having the name ‘MoneyGram Haas’ is pretty good in my opinion. It’s not a problem if someone wants to get involved at this level – they need a certain return on investment. “
Magnussen: Without MoneyGram, probably no end-of-season update
Haas driver Kevin Magnussen, who experienced first-hand the chaos surrounding title sponsor Rich Energy during the 2019 season during his time with the American team, also has only positive things to say about Moneygram: “I think it’s a good sponsorship. It’s about money – and we all know what that means in Formula 1,” says the Dane.
“I think the situation we are in now, that we have brought quite a big upgrade [at the end of the season], is something that wouldn’t have happened in the past. We haven’t brought a lot of upgrades this year, but that’s because the team hasn’t found the improvements to justify producing a big upgrade and spending the money for a not-so-big gain.”
“So they have changed their approach and are now finding a lot more in the wind tunnel that is more promising for future development. So it’s a very positive thing to bring this upgrade a few races before the start. We obviously hope it will improve our pace on the track, but even if it doesn’t, it’s still a very good learning process and very good research for next year’s development. “