Haas Officially Parts Ways With Title Sponsor, Rich Energy

Haas racing team revealed the first image of one its cars after the removal of the former title sponsor Rich Energy.

The announcement of the split came after the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Rich Energy was the first team title sponsor, and the VF-19s raced in the black and gold color scheme of the company.

Haas’s cars originally featured the company’s stag logo, though communications broke down following the Canadian Grand Prix. This was after the energy drink brand lost the case alleging the logo infringed the copyright of the manufacturer, Whyte Bikes.

Rich Energy’s CEO, William Storey also cited the reason for termination of the partnership with the team was poor performance.

Rich Energy made its position clear via a social media post in July claiming it had stopped the sponsorship because of Haas's poor performance.

They later retracted the statement and Haas announced they had amicably agreed to the ending of the partnership with immediate effect.

The shareholders tried to preserve the deal following the dispute and the Rich Energy branding remained on the car until Monza’s Grand Prix.

While the Rich Energy name has now also disappeared, some of the vehicle’s gold coloring is featured by Haas on their online site.

Before they signed with Rich Energy, Haas competed in grey and red colors of machine tool company, Haas Automation which the team owner, Gene Haas promoted through the F1 presence.

Haas would be left to head into Singapore and the final seven races of the 2019 season without their title sponsor. They have confirmed though; there are no radical plans to change the color scheme they ran throughout 2019.

Even though the Rich Energy logos have been removed, the car looks the same as it did during the season.

The question is where the team is going to go henceforth. The sentiment is they will be okay. Rich Energy had not been the most reliable of sponsors for the current season, and yet they have been managing.

Haas are heading into the next Grand Prix on the back of three consecutive non-scoring races considering the team is enduring a trying season both on the track and off it.

They finished at position 15th and 18th with Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen. The Danish driver, however, is the current record holder at Marina Bay, so that presents hope their performance this weekend.

The Singapore Grand Prix presents an opportunity for Haas to redeem themselves.