Haas team to run Ferrari engines in F1 (Update)
Nascar team co-owner Gene Haas' machine tool company Haas Automation is already a sponsor of the fabled Maranello based team.
Haas said, “There is no team in Formula 1 more accomplished than Scuderia Ferrari, and no team with more history. They’ve been a part of Formula 1 from the beginning, and now they’ll be a part of Haas F1 Team’s beginning"
"We're delighted to announce this important strategic partnership with Haas F1 Team and to welcome an American player as a new entrant in formula one," said team boss Marco Mattiacci in a media statement.
Ferrari's other customers in F1 are Sauber and Marussia, who according to Mattiacci at Spa-Francorchamps two weeks ago are behind in their 2014 payments.
He said on Wednesday: "While our objective is to reinforce our power unit development program for all our customer teams, we believe this new partnership (with Haas) has the potential to evolve beyond the traditional role of supplying our power unit and all related technical services.
"United States continues to be one of the most important markets for Ferrari and it offers many interesting opportunities," added Mattiacci.
06/10/14 Gene Haas hopes to be able reveal who will supply his team with F1 engines "in the next few weeks."
The American runs NASCAR team Stewart-Haas Racing and plans to expand his operation into Formula 1 in 2016 having been granted an entry by the FIA.
Currently Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault power the 11 teams on the grid with Honda joining the party in 2015 with McLaren.
"We haven’t signed a deal yet so I don’t want to overstep my boundaries and put the cart before the horse. But we are in negotiations and hopefully we will have something in the next few weeks," Haas told Sky Sports F1.
Since launching in 2003, Stewart-Haas Racing have won 22 Sprint Cup races and taken one Drivers’ Championship, however, the differences between running a NASCAR team and an F1 team are huge. Despite this, Haas sees grand prix racing as the perfect way to expand his business outside of North America.
"We I think NASCAR is a great racing series in the US, but we are trying to expand our business overseas and we think that Formula 1 will help us there so that is the main process," he added.
Haas spent large parts of the Canadian Grand Prix in Ferrari hospitality promoting rumors it could the Scuderia he looks to for engines.