Mercedes ends F1 sponsorship deal with Kingspan

Mercedes has “ended its Formula 1 sponsorship deal" with Kingspan with "immediate effect after facing backlash last week,” according to Luke Smith of MOTORSPORT.com. Mercedes named Kingspan “as a new partner” ahead of last week’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but “faced outcry over the company’s involvement in the Grenfell Tower disaster.” Kingspan’s insulation was one of the products that was “used on the outside of the tower,” and its role in the tragedy that killed 72 people is "being probed in public enquiry.” U.K. government minister Michael Gove wrote an open letter to Mercedes F1 Team Principal Toto Wolff “urging him to reconsider the deal and warning that the British government could change advertising rules for motorsport, such was its anger at the situation." Grenfell United, a pressure group made up of the families of victims and survivors, in response to the news said that Mercedes had "done the right thing by disassociating themselves from Kingspan" (MOTORSPORT.com, 12/8).