F1 News
Storey: Return of Rich Energy as sponsor feels like ‘vindication’
- GPblog.com
William Storey, CEO of Rich Energy has confirmed the return of his company as a sponsor in Formula One in 2021. He explains why he feels Rich Energy was unfairly dropped by Haas in 2019, stating that the return feels like a 'vindication' for him and his company.
Until 2019, Rich Energy was one of Haas' sponsors. From the moment of his exit, Storey set his sights on a return to the grid. Speaking to Formulaspy.com, he explained this drive: “I said, from day 1, we would beat the competition & our return to F1 is the next step of me being vindicated. Many fans actually support us & we aim to add colour to a dreary corporate paddock.”
Internal coup
According to Storey, an 'internal coup' at the hands of its shareholders was the biggest reason Haas withdrew its trust from Rich Energy in 2019, which Storey explains as follows: “We are delighted to return. We were valuable enough in 2019 for corporate investors to try & steal the brand & our major competitors to repeatedly take legal action. … Corporate shareholders tried and failed to steal the brand & blew up the UK distribution company in the process. Commercially idiotic & hubristic. Unfortunately, Haas believed the nonsense of this group which they now regret.”
Storey continued: “Despite that attack I have led a renaissance of the brand worldwide & our return to F1 is merely the next step of our growth.”
The deal with the Formula One team is not the first sponsorship to Rich Energy's name; last year the company made a similar deal with OMG Racing in the British Superbike Championship.