The German automaker announced ahead of the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix that it had signed a partnership with the international company, and Kingspan logos have appeared on the nose of the W12.
However, the connection has sparked a wave of controversy thanks to Kingspan’s involvement in the Grenfell Tower disaster that killed 72 people in 2017.
Kingspan insulation was one of the products used on the outside of the tower and its role in the tragedy is being investigated in a public investigation.
The Grenfell United advocacy group, comprised of survivors and bereaved, wrote to Wolff to express their disgust at Kingspan’s sponsorship deal. He replied and said he was ready to meet her to better understand the situation.
In addition, Michael Gove, MP, Minister for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities, wrote to Wolff warning that the UK government could change the advertising rules for motorsport in such a way that their anger over the situation was great.
World Champion Lewis Hamilton suggested removing the Kingspan stickers from his car after qualifying in Saudi Arabia, as he made it clear that he had no prior knowledge of the deal.
When asked if this was a realistic possibility, Wolff said: “We have discussed this with the important people and will contact Kingspan and find the right solution.
“There’s a contractual agreement behind this, and we want to do the right thing with integrity. And that’s why I don’t want to comment further. “
Wolff said the past few days’ experience taught him some important lessons as the scale of the backlash to the Kingspan deal seems to have taken both him and his team by surprise.
“There is certainly a lot to learn for me personally and for the team,” he said. “But I would like to say that we have entered into a dialogue with some of the relatives and survivors of the Grenfell tragedy to better understand the pain it caused. And this process is only just beginning.
“But we’d like to have privacy while this goes on. And we check it with great urgency. “
Urged on whether he regrets closing the deal, even though he now knows what the reaction would be, Wolff said, “We all develop and learn in our lives and this is clearly a situation that will improve me in the future . And my assessment, my decision-making and … period. Everything I say more only brings me into one situation. “
The post Mercedes could reevaluate Kingspan F1 deal after backlash first appeared on monter-une-startup.
