Rich Energy splits from Haas F1 team

Rich Energy has terminated its Formula 1 title sponsorship deal with Haas ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix.

In a brief statement issued on social media, Rich Energy said it had ended its contract with Haas on Wednesday, citing “poor performance”.

“We aim to beat Red Bull and being behind Williams in Austria is unacceptable,” a Tweet posted on Rich Energy’s account read.

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

Rich Energy lost its court battle with Whyte Bikes after being adjudged to have copied the British bike company’s logo, with the energy drink firm seeing its appeal rejected and also being asked to reveal the financial details of its deal with Haas in a recent court order.

Its stag logo was subsequently removed from Haas’ car livery and team kit ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix in June.

The American squad, which finished fifth in last year’s championship, has endured a tough start to the season and currently lies ninth in the standings, having not scored a point since May’s Monaco Grand Prix.

The split comes as a surprise given that Rich Energy was sharing Haas’ social media posts about the British GP in the lead up to this weekend’s race.

After being approached for a response, Haas released a statement saying it would not comment on confidential information.

“Rich Energy is currently the title partner of Haas F1 Team. I cannot comment further on the contractual relationship between our two parties due to commercial confidentiality,” Guenther Steiner, Haas team principal, said.