LONDON (Reuters) – MoneyGram, Haas’ title sponsor, is remaining unfazed by the departure of fan-favorite team boss Guenther Steiner and is committed to staying in Formula One for the long term, according to the company’s chief marketing officer, Greg Hall.
Hall assured reporters at a pre-season event with new principal Ayao Komatsu and drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen that the sponsor does not interfere in racing or team decisions.
The departure of Italian-American Steiner, who gained popularity through the Netflix docu-series ‘Drive to Survive’ for his straightforward assessments and colorful language, was announced last month and he was replaced by Japanese engineer Komatsu.
There had been speculation about MoneyGram’s reaction to the news, given Steiner’s prominent role within the team.
“Guenther’s left and he was well loved in ‘Drive to Survive’,” Hall remarked. “People who liked Guenther are always going to like Guenther. He’s a great guy.”
“From a racing perspective … coaches get changed all the time. You can be a great coach but if you’re not producing results owners tend to make changes. I think most people kind of understand that,” Hall added.
Hall also revealed that MoneyGram had a five-year deal with Haas and expressed excitement for the upcoming season, despite the U.S. team finishing last in 2023.
“We are going to continue to do the things we did last year, bringing fans and customers closer to the action and that’s what makes it all work for us,” he said.
“We finished 10th last year and we had fantastic results from a marketing perspective. So it’s not a correlation that has to be tied to your position in the constructors’ standings,” Hall emphasized.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ken Ferris)
