Norbert Friedrich Haug (born 24 November 1952) is a German journalist and the former vice president of Mercedes-Benz motorsport activity, including

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

, Formula 3 and DTM. Under his direction, Mercedes-Benz enjoyed considerable success in all categories, winning multiple races and championships.

Journalist

Haug worked for the

Pforzheimer Zeitung ''Pforzheimer Zeitung'' is an independent local subscription newspaper with seat in Pforzheim, which is mainly distributed and read in the city of Pforzheim and the surrounding Enz district. Its language of publication is German and it appears dai ...

newspaper in his home town of

Pforzheim Pforzheim () is a city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany. It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the nickname "Goldstadt" ("Golden City") ...

as a volunteer, before joining them as a trainee journalist. He then moved on to the publishing house Motor-Presse-Verlag in Stuttgart, which was part of the

Gruner + Jahr Gruner may refer to: People * Dov Gruner (1912–1947), Jewish Zionist leader * Eduard Gruner, Swiss engineer * Elioth Gruner (1882–1939), Australian painter * Gottlieb Sigmund Gruner (1717–1778), Swiss cartographer and geologist * K ...

group, where he became head of motorsports for ''

Auto, Motor und Sport ''Auto Motor und Sport'', often stylized as auto motor und sport and abbreviated AMS or AMuS, is a German automobile magazine. It is published fortnightly by Motor Presse Netzwerk's subsidiary Motor Presse Stuttgart, a specialist magazine publis ...

'' magazine before becoming its deputy chief editor in 1988. While busy pursuing a career in journalism, Haug also raced cars, including the

24 Hours Nürburgring 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smalle ...

where he finished second in 1985. He also took part, like many people involved with

, in the

Porsche Carrera Cup Porsche Carrera Cup (sometimes abbreviated PCC) is a number of one-make racing by Porsche premier series competed with, initially Porsche 911 Carrera Cup, then later Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. The cars are specifically built by Porsche for one- ...

. In 1986, was given the opportunity to privately test a Williams F1 car.

Mercedes-Benz

Bernd Schneider Norbert Haug Dieter Zetsche 2008 amk

Haug joined Mercedes-Benz in 1990, with a brief to revive their motor sport credentials. Haug maintained Mercedes presence in

Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for touring cars and ''Group B'' for GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top touri ...

and later in the DTM and

International Touring Car Championship International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

. Early successes included

Klaus Ludwig Klaus Karl Ludwig (born 5 October 1949) is a German racing driver. Biography He also known as ''König Ludwig'' ("King Ludwig") for his success in touring cars and in sports car racing. In the 1970s, Ludwig drove for Ford in the Deutsche ...

winning the DTM drivers title in 1992 and 1994, and Bernd Schneider winning both the DTM and ITC drivers titles in 1995. In 2000 Haug and Mercedes were instrumental in the relaunch of

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM, German Touring Car Masters) is a grand touring car series sanctioned by ITR e.V. who have been affiliated to the DMSB- FIA since 1984. The series is based in Germany, with rounds elsewhere in Europe. The s ...

Formula One

Under Haug's direction, Mercedes-Benz re-entered Formula One after almost 40 years. In 1993 Haug negotiated a partnership with

Peter Sauber Peter Sauber (born 13 October 1943) is a retired Swiss motorsport executive. He was the team principal and owner of various motorsports teams, most visibly the eponymous Sauber Formula One team. Motorsport career After being trained as an electr ...

, with engineering assistance which resulted in

Sauber Sauber Motorsport AG is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in . After operating it un ...

team cars having the words ''Concept by Mercedes-Benz'' on their engine bay flanks. In 1994 Haug negotiated Mercedes-Benz entry to the CART championship, and the Sauber-Mercedes cars were now officially powered by Mercedes-Benz badged engines, developed by the company's development arrangement with

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

based manufacturer

Ilmor Ilmor is a British independent high-performance motor racing engineering company. It was founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Mi ...

. After the serious accident at the Monaco Grand Prix which resulted in injury to

Karl Wendlinger Karl Wendlinger (born 20 December 1968) is an Austrian professional racing and former Formula One driver. Mercedes Juniors Born in Kufstein, Wendlinger started his career in karting and in Formula Ford before entering the German Formula 3 C ...

, and with

Team McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...

looking for a new engine supplier, Haug negotiated Mercedes-Benz partnership with McLaren from the 1995 season. In 2009, it was officially announced that

Daimler AG The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufactu ...

in partnership with

Aabar Investments Mubadala Investment Company PJSC ( ar, شركة مبادلة للاستثمار), or simply Mubadala, is an Emirati state-owned holding company that acts as a sovereign wealth fund. The company was established in 2017 when then-named Mubadala Dev ...

had purchased a 75.1% stake in

Brawn GP Brawn GP was a Formula One constructor which competed in the 2009 Formula One World Championship, with drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. The team was formed in 2009 by a management buyout led by Ross Brawn of the Honda Racing F1 ...

(Daimler AG: 45.1%; Aabar: 30%). Under Haug's leadership, the team was rebranded as Mercedes GP for . The team used the Brawn GP base in

Brackley Brackley is a market town and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, bordering Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, from Oxford and from Northampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the inter ...

for its operations and Brawn stayed on as team principal until the end of the season. On 13 December 2012, it was announced that Haug would leave his role and the company at the end of 2012.

Personal life

Haug is married, with one daughter.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haug, Norbert 1952 births Living people People from Pforzheim German journalists German male journalists 20th-century German journalists 21st-century German journalists German motorsport people Formula One people World Sportscar Championship drivers German male writers Mercedes-Benz in Formula One