Rich Energy claims split from 'unacceptable' Haas

Rich Energy

Rich Energy claims split from 'unacceptable' Haas

The bizarre gets bizarre-er!

Matthew Scott

Wednesday 10 July 2019 20:54 Updated: 21:03

Haas' title sponsor Rich Energy has claimed to have split from the Formula 1 team, citing poor performance and blasting F1 as a whole in the process.

Rich Energy has hovered around F1 for more than a year, having originally tried to buy Force India as it fell into financial trouble.

Once that deal went the way of Lawrence Stroll's consortium, Rich Energy owner William Storey was seen with Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams at last year's United States Grand Prix, only for a deal with Haas to be announced shortly afterwards.

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The team's bombastic social media offerings have caught the eye and split opinion, with Rich Energy using F1 to try and take on Red Bull on the shelves and the track.

Less than a year after getting into the sport, however, it seems that Rich Energy is backing out again, launching a remarkable attack on Haas in the process.

A tweet read: "Today @rich_energy terminated our contract with @HaasF1Team for poor performance.

"We aim to beat @redbullracing & being behind @WilliamsRacing in Austria is unacceptable.

"The politics and PC attitude in @F1 is also inhibiting our business. We wish the team well."

Maybe Rich Energy should can the straight-up bizarre Red Bull trollingRead more

Haas sit ninth in the constructors' championship after nine rounds, having struggled badly to convert obvious pace into race results, with Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean often dropping through the field once the lights go out.

Magnussen was the offender in finishing behind the Williams of George Russell in Austria, but did so having qualified fifth-fastest the day before - summing up Haas' struggles neatly.

Rich Energy's 2019 has not been without its difficulties, however.

The company were found to have copied the logo of bicycle manufacturer Whyte Bikes for its stag motif, losing a court battle which meant that Haas had removed the logo from its livery in recent races.

Having changed a grey scheme for a black and gold paint job to mirror Rich Energy's own branding, it remains to be seen how the VF-19 will look at upcoming races, including this week's British GP.