Rich Energy future to be decided by Singapore

The future of Rich Energy's title sponsorship at Haas will be resolved by the Singapore Grand Prix, according to the team's Formula 1 chief, Gunther Steiner.

A turbulent summer saw Rich Energy's continuation as Haas' primary partner in F1 be thrown into doubt amid claims it would be terminating its agreement, only for this to later be retracted.

Rich Energy’s public figure and CEO, William Storey, was removed from his role over the summer, with Haas now engaging with the brand’s investors and backers.

Haas returned from the summer break with Rich Energy’s sponsorship still on its car and wider branding, with team boss Steiner saying the situation had now “calmed down”.

“They have calmed down, and now we'll see where they go from here. First you need the calm to then make a rational decision, and then it will be decided,” Steiner said.

“At the moment they are on here, obviously as you can see. They need to decide whether they want to go or not with us. With their decision, then our one will follow that we need to do, and that should happen in the next week or so. And this time, it will happen properly.

“I had another meeting with them yesterday in London and that's what we agreed to, to decide which way to go.

“We agreed that once they are ready to do or decide where they want to go, the investors, they tell us what they want to do.”

Asked to give a timeframe on when any decision would be made, Steiner said it would fall between the Italian Grand Prix and the Singapore Grand Prix.

“I think it will be after Monza. Because Monza is just next week, there's very little time to do things properly,” Steiner said.

“Hopefully we can do them properly and respectfully.”