Overview
Rich Energy, the previous title sponsor of the Haas Formula 1 team, has announced that they will return to Formula 1 ahead of the 2021 season, in what business co-founder and CEO William Storey has dubbed the “biggest comeback since Lazarus.”
As a result of a weird series of events that occurred that summer, the brand exited Formula One well before the 2019 season ended.
Many fans were greatly entertained, if not necessarily wanting more, as a result of the series of events, which included legal controversies and much, much more, ranging from bogus announcements to Twitter memes.
Storey, who confirmed a return in a video last month, has stated that the doubters will be surprised when they learn the facts of the British energy drink company’s return, as the public waits for an official announcement.
Rich Energy plan to return to F1
Rich Energy became Haas’ first-ever title sponsor in Formula 1 ahead of the 2019 season, but their multi-year deal only lasted a few months after ongoing behind-the-scenes strife between the two sides led to their split in September 2019.
But now, in a video released to social media, Storey claims that Rich Energy is returning to Formula 1 after leading the brand through a “renaissance.”
A message to motorsport fans#RichEnergy #F1 #Motorsport #British #EnergyDrink #Entrepreneur pic.twitter.com/gCt9A0Akdx
— William Storey (@richenergyceo) January 10, 2021
“I would like to thank the thousands of motorsport fans who have contacted us who are as excited as we are about the black and gold of Rich Energy returning to Formula 1,” Storey said.
“As you know, in 2018, I signed a deal for Rich Energy to become the title sponsor of Haas and in 2019 Rich Energy Haas Formula 1 team competed with Ferrari engines.
“We had some challenges in the summer of 2019 with corporate stakeholders and our main competitors, causing us a lot of issues, but we’ve overcome that and, as the co-founder of the business, I led a renaissance of Rich Energy around the world.
“Now we have one of the best motorbike teams in the world, Rich Energy OMG Racing, we have partnerships with some of the biggest motorsports manufacturers, and now we have some of the fastest men in the world as ambassadors in addition to ambassadors in many other sports.
“That includes for example Alvaro Bautista, the Spanish World Superbike superstar. We have James Hillier, the TT legend, racing for Rich Energy in the Dakar Rally and we have, among others, Davo Johnson, the Australian TT winner, representing Rich Energy in road racing.
“We’re very, very excited about coming back to Formula 1 and we look forward to really being very competitive in the pinnacle of motorsport.
“I thank all the supporters for their interest in what we are doing.”
Rich Energy planning to sponsor Haas for the 2022 season
Rich Energy’s founder, William Storey, has announced on social media that the energy drink firm will return to Formula One in “the biggest comeback since Lazarus.”
He hasn’t said whether Rich Energy will be a team’s title sponsor or a driver’s personal sponsor, only that the name will return to Formula One.
In Formula One, the term “rich energy” is well-known.
The energy drink brand announced in 2018 that they will become Haas’ headline sponsor the following year. However, the collaboration came to an end prematurely after the racing team’s 2019 season got off to a bad start.
Rich Energy partnered with Haas F1 in 2019, although the partnership was dogged by problems throughout the season, including questions about the brand’s validity and the abrupt cancellation of the deal following the Austrian Grand Prix.
According to Storey, “a strategic ally of Rich Energy has agreed to buy a majority ownership in the present team” and that the brand is considering “engaging with (their) own team in 2022” due to new restrictions, implying that the Rich Energy F1 Team might debut in 2022.
Even before the announcement, some individuals speculated on whether Rich Energy would join with Williams, with the majority of them disliking the idea of the company sponsoring the team.
What should we expect from Haas’ former sponsor?
Rich Energy’s high expectations and strange social media strategy were compounded by the reality that the drink itself remained a mystery.
Despite the fact that the Haas motorhomes were brimming with it, most ordinary people had never tasted or even heard of it before they revealed their title partnership with Haas.
It’s also been reported that the corporation had hoped to sign a sponsorship arrangement with Williams before joining Haas.
It’s unclear whether Williams turned them down or if Rich Energy chose to go somewhere else.
Nonetheless, with Williams in need of funds and Rich Energy being a proud British company, it’s possible that Storey is hinting towards collaboration between the two in his newest Twitter post.
When Force India fell into administration in 2018, Rich Energy tried to buy the squad for a cool £100 million. Racing Point promptly knocked down Storey’s claim that the sale had been completed.
Hopefully, with solid investment Rich Energy, Haas team will be able to stay on the grid, as the Haas Team has a lot of skilled people.