Rich Energy shareholders blame “rogue individual” for Haas tweet
The shareholders behind the Rich Energy brand have described the claim that it had terminated its deal with the Haas Formula 1 team as "the rogue actions of one individual".
A statement was posted on the Twitter account of the energy drink company in the lead-up of the British Grand Prix that suggested Rich had pulled out of its title sponsorship agreement with Haas, with the American outfit's form – as well as "the politics and PC attitude in F1" - cited as the reason.
Haas soon confirmed, however, that the agreement was still in place, and it emerged that shareholders behind the brand were keen to preserve the deal.
A rebuttal statement, attributed to "the shareholders who own the majority of Rich Energy", has now been issued to counter the earlier tweet, which as of the time of writing remains the latest post on the Twitter account in question.
"We wholeheartedly believe in the Haas F1 Team, its performance, and the organisation as a whole and we are fully committed to the current sponsorship agreement in place. We also completely believe in the product of Formula 1 and the platform it offers our brand," the shareholders' statement read.
"Clearly the rogue actions of one individual have caused great embarrassment. We are in the process of legally removing the individual from all executive responsibilities. They may speak for themselves but their views are not those of the company."
The statement also described the previous tweet as "regrettable" and having come from "an unauthorised source".
"We wish to confirm our commitment to the Haas F1 Team, Formula 1 and to thank the Haas F1 Team for their support and patience whilst this matter is dealt with internally," the statement concluded.
The "individual" behind the "rogue actions" in question was not directly named in the statement.
It was previously suggested to Motorsport.com that the tweet announcing the termination of the deal had been either written or authorised by company CEO William Storey.
The Haas F1 team boss Gunther Steiner confirmed earlier on Thursday that the team would be running Rich Energy branding as usual during the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
"They will be on the car this weekend, and then the rest we need to sort out going forward what we're doing," Steiner said.
Share Or Save This Story
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
Haas F1 boss Ayao Komatsu gets behind wheel of historic F1 car ahead of Italian GP
Why only Oliver Bearman has the new Ferrari F1 engine at Haas
You Ask The Questions: Esteban Ocon
Fernando Alonso and Liam Lawson set for F1 Italian GP pitlane start
Alpine brings back folding rear wing ahead of Pierre Gasly’s Monza pole
Lewis Hamilton unhappy with Ferrari execution in Monza F1 qualifying
From Chess.com to Monza pole: How Pierre Gasly beat George Russell twice in one afternoon
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc explain what went wrong for Ferrari in Italian GP qualifying
What makes Lewis Hamilton's 'barn find' Ferrari F40 so important
Explaining the complicated art of F1 braking
What next after Briatore’s explosive McLaren rant?
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments