a mercedes This Wednesday (08) announced that it has terminated the sponsorship agreement with Kingspan Right after the controversy that arose last week. New sponsor announced before Saudi Arabia GP from Formula 1and soon became a target of criticism due to the brand’s involvement in the fire in Tori Greenville.
Kingspan insulation was one of the products used on the tower’s exterior, and its role in the tragedy that killed 72 people is still widely investigated. the group Greenville United, formed by survivors and relatives of the dead, wrote to toto wolf, Mercedes boss, expressing his anger at the deal.
British government member Michael Grove also wrote an open letter to Wolff, asking him to reconsider the deal, and that the government could change sponsorship rules for motorsports due to the response to the announcement.
Wolff hinted on Saturday that Mercedes might re-evaluate the deal with Kingspan, and the team confirmed on Wednesday that the deal had been unanimously terminated.
“Mercedes and Kingspan announced today that they have reached a mutual agreement to end the partnership,” Mercedes’ statement says. “The partnership was announced last week, and included Kingspan leading the team’s sustainability working group, with the goal of reducing carbon emissions through the latest sustainable solutions for the team’s future campus.”
“However, the parties subsequently concluded that it was not appropriate for the partnership to proceed at this time, despite the intended positive effect, and therefore we have agreed to terminate immediately.”
Toto Wolff, Team Leader and CEO of Mercedes AMG
Photography: Simon Galloway / motorsports pictures
Kingspan says in his own statement that he is “fully aware of the sentiments that have arisen in recent days, and as a result, we have reached a mutual agreement that it would not be appropriate to continue at the present time.”
Kingspan has also responded to some of the criticism it has faced, stating that he “has no role in the renovation of Grenfell Tower”, and that insulation works in the UK are “active participants in the Grenfell Tower investigations and that he supports the work being done”.
“We condemn, as far as possible, the historically unacceptable behavior and emails that surfaced during the investigation,” he said. “We apologize for the actions of a small group of employees in our UK business. This in no way reflects Kingspan’s culture or values.”
Grenfell United responded to the news by saying that Mercedes had “rightly distanced itself” from Kingspan. “With justice still a long way to go, it is small steps like this that encourage us to keep fighting,” the group’s open letter posted on Twitter said.
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