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Haas boss Guenther Steiner claimed he is done with Russian nationals in the latest season of the wildly popular Netflix docuseries 'Drive to Survive'. The Italian motorsport executive had to ditch former driver Nikita Mazepin after Russian leader Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Steiner termed Mazepin as 'collateral damage', referring to the global boycotting of Russian athletes following the war. Along with Mazepin, the American outfit also dropped Russian company Uralkali, who was a major sponsor of the team. Steiner and company went with Kevin Magnussen for the 2022 season, who got his first pole position in the sport at the 2022 Brazilian GP.
Speaking about his controversial disdain for Russian nationals following the invasion of Ukraine, the Haas boss said in the first episode of 'Drive to Survive':
“The situation is he’s Russian. (So) he’s collateral damage. I don’t need any of this. ****ing hell. No more Russians. I’m done with Russians until I go from this planet.”
The team decided to drop Mick Schumacher for the upcoming season and will instead go with Nico Hulkenberg in 2023. Hulkenberg will pair up with Magnussen later this year.
Money is no longer a 'limit' for Haas
Team boss Guenther Steiner claims that money is no longer a limit for the American team in 2023 due to MoneyGram's involvement. The American outfit will look to climb the F1 hierarchy in the near future, with the return of Nico Hulkenberg to the squad.
Haas, having finished in eighth place in 2022, has always faced financial challenges. These problems were particularly in comparison to bigger names in the sport such as Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull. Nonetheless, the team has recently resolved its funding issues thanks to MoneyGram, a US-based peer-to-peer payment and money transfer company.
Steiner told AMuS:
"We can (do) just more in these exactly the same (budget figures) as the other teams and (that) should be possible. I always tell my engineers, 'now money is no longer the limit, but talent, your talent.' It's all about talent now, not money."
With pre-season testing in Bahrain underway ahead of the new season, it will be interesting to see how the team performs in the future.
