This is why Haas turned down millions of dollars
F1 News
- Ludo van Denderen
In Formula 1, budget is all-important: the more money teams have to spend - despite the budget cap - the better the results (usually). The fact that Haas F1 finished 2023 in last place in the constructors' championship is perhaps not surprising to some given their budget. Haas could have had much more financial leeway, but owner Gene Haas put a stop to that.
It is no secret that Haas F1 don't spend up to the budget cap every year. Moreover, Gene Haas has to pour millions of private money into the team every year to keep things running. The now departed Guenther Steiner regularly complained about his team's lack of financial capabilities. Now that the Italian has stepped aside, it appears that there were indeed opportunities to create more budget for Haas.
Ryan Reynolds was not welcome
The group of investors - including Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds - that eventually stepped in at Alpine for €200 million initially reported to Haas F1. Gene Haas told Formula 1's official website in conversation. "We have had outside investors come in, and they want to talk to us," the American said. "They expect a 15% rate of return every year. Give me a 15% rate of return, and I have a couple of hundred million dollars I’ll give you! They have high expectations. They have all kinds of rules."
In any case, Gene Haas didn't feel like going into business with these people. "They want to buy into you, and five years later they want to make a $100m profit. Quite frankly, I don’t need that kind of oversight from people who come in with $200m – it’s not enough to entice me to do that," Haas said.