Haas: Rich Energy future to be decided over summer break

A decision on whether or not Rich Energy will continue to serve as the title sponsor of Haas will be taken over Formula 1's summer break, according to team boss Günther Steiner.

Rich Energy descended into a saga surrounding its ownership in July after it was claimed the energy drink brand would be terminating its title sponsorship of the Haas team due to "poor performance", only for the company to confirm the tweet had been sent by a "rogue individual" and that it was committed to its agreement with the F1 outfit.

Haas has distanced itself from the ongoing legal challenges Rich Energy has been facing, but team boss Steiner confirmed in Hungary that the future of the title partnership would be resolved over the summer break.

"It’s still rumbling on, but we should have a decision in the next days - or by the beginning of the second half of the season, everyone will know," Steiner said.

Asked to clarify if that was whether the deal continued, Steiner said: "Correct. You will all see. If it’s not on [the car], it doesn’t continue. If it is, it continues."

Haas is officially entered into the F1 world championship as 'Rich Energy Haas F1 Team', but a name change would not cause any issues. Ferrari, for example, switches between 'Scuderia Ferrari' and 'Mission Winnow Scuderia Ferrari' depending on the laws regarding tobacco sponsorship in the country where it is racing.

The larger alteration may come in Haas' team image, which was changed to black and gold colours for 2019 to come in line with Rich Energy's branding, and extended to the car livery that also runs with Rich Energy's logos and name.