In mid-August, the Petronas SRT team confirmed the end of its partnership with the Malaysian oil company, which would end its sponsorship at the end of the 2021 season, after a three-year relationship.
At the time, Petronas’ decision was framed in a context of economic realignment due to the pandemic and, in part, the team’s decline in performance following the departure of Fabio Quartararo and the arrival of Valentino Rossi.
However, little by little, information emerged suggesting that the management of team principal Razlan Razali was not considered ideal and that it was some of his moves that triggered the separation.
In the last few hours, Razali himself has publicly apologized for some comments made during the second half of the season, especially in an interview with a German site.
“I am sincerely sorry for the result of how the articles were written and the impact they have had,” said Razali in the note released with the title: “From Razlan Razali, Team Principal of the Petronas Sepang Racing Team, regarding the Speedweek.com article “.
“With this, I apologize if the parties mentioned by these reporters feel offended in any way,” continued the Malaysian executive.
“We agreed that the partnership had achieved its purpose and objectives and, given the global economic situation due to the pandemic, I respect the partner’s decision not to continue. The team, together with its main sponsor, has achieved a lot in three years. of collaboration and I thank our partner for their commitment and their support in finishing on a positive note at the last race in Valencia “, he added.
In the aforementioned interview, Razali explained how the negotiations for the renewal of the contract with Petronas were interrupted, which for him was “a nice surprise”.
“I got an offer in June, they wanted to give us less money. I said no, we couldn’t do it for less and I asked for a slight increase in the budget,” explained Razali. “Looking back, I should have accepted that offer.”
“We agreed on a deadline to reach an agreement by the end of July and I had two scenarios: no offer or continue to negotiate. And they decided to leave, they didn’t give us a chance to discuss.”
Personal quarrels
One of the triggers for Petronas’s stance was the alleged bad relationship of the director of strategic communications, Anita Azrina Abdul Aziz, with Razali. But this already from the time when the latter was the CEO of the Sepang circuit, from 2008 to 2020.
The current owner of the re-founded RNF MotoGP Team recalled the disagreements he had in those years during the discussions relating to the Formula 1 Grand Prix.
“That person left Petronas and in 2018 two other women arrived who became my interlocutors. When they went away, the same lady with whom I had heated discussions on some occasions came back. Is it a coincidence that the sponsorship has not continued? “, Razali wondered at the end of October.
A speculation that did not go down to the Malaysian oil company and the Sepang International Circuit (SIC), which for three years was the owner of the team.
On the same note in which Razali apologized, his replacement as the circuit’s CEO, Azhan Shafriman Hanif, completely disassociated himself from his predecessor’s words.
“These articles do not express the views or opinions of Sepang Racing Circuit as the owner of the team. We do not share them and we do not endorse them in any way. We respect Petronas’ decision to end the partnership, we firmly maintain that the separation was mutual and, above all, amicably agreed “.
“We would like to thank Petronas for their continued support throughout this period,” concludes the autodrome CEO, who was appointed in April 2020 after working 13 years for Petronas, the last three at the head of strategic alliances.
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