Haas Automation, founded by motorsport team owner Gene Haas, has become an official sponsor of Formula One team Ferrari until the end of the 2015 season.

The sponsorship begins with this weekend’s British Grand Prix, and according to Ibnlive, Haas Automation branding will be featured on the lower sidepods of the cars driven by Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen.

Haas Automation designs and builds metal-cutting machine tools including CNC machining centres, lathes and rotary tables.

Gene Haas is the co-owner of Nascar team Stewart Haas Racing. In April he announced plans for Haas Formula, which is set become the first American Formula One team since 1986 but will not enter the championship until 2016.

Marco Mattiacci, team principal of Ferrari, commented: “We are pleased to welcome Haas Automation as our latest official supplier.

“This agreement strengthens our existing links in the USA, an important market not only for our company, but also for Scuderia Ferrari, as it is one where the team already benefits from several important partnerships.”

Gene Haas added: “Haas Automation is a premium brand, and there’s no better way to drive that point home than to connect it with Scuderia Ferrari on motor racing’s biggest stage.

“Scuderia Ferrari is F1’s most prestigious and decorated team with a large, loyal and passionate fan base. Exposing Scuderia Ferrari fans and a Ferrari customer to the quality of Haas Automation CNC machine tools is an important first step to expanding our global reach.”