07/02/2019
NEWS STORY
Even as the wraps were about to be taken off Haas 2018 contender, which had been brought to the RAC Club in London for the purposes of showing the team's new livery, social media was awash with jokes relating to the American team's new sponsor.
For while the car proudly sports the logo of Rich Energy, the British energy drink, nobody seems to have ever tasted the stuff, far less bought it, leaving many wondering how a product that doesn't appear widely available can access the sort of money needed to sponsor an F1 team.
Last year the company was linked with a buy-out of Force India, but that came to nothing, unsurprisingly when it was revealed that the company had little in the bank... much like the team it was allegedly seeking to buy.
Then, late last year, having been courted by Williams in Austin, Rich Energy made an 11th hour decision to take its money to Haas, once again raising eyebrows in the paddock and on social media.
Speaking at today's livery reveal, Rich Energy CEO, Williams Storey, was keen to dismiss the claims about his company, insisting that it is a serious player and is targeting Red Bull, both on the race track and off, as it aims to become the number one energy drink.
"We are looking forward to taking on Red Bull, on and off the track," Storey told reporters, insisting that his product is available in 43 countries and has sold 90 million cans.
"I'm full of admiration for Red Bull, they're a very good business," he continued, "but we feel we've got a compelling proposition, a better brand."
"There's been an awful lot of talk of ownership, previous regime and the future," he added, when asked why he had chosen F1, a sport that positively devours money, "but ultimately it's going to remain the pinnacle long term. It has a brand value, F1, which I think is unprecedented in sport. Therefore for us it's a great platform and we intend to being in F1 long, long term.
"Haas absolutely are a dream partner for us," he insists. "They are a David taking on Goliaths and we are the same in the drinks business. By every metric, they were vastly superior. They're uniquely positioned to exploit regulation changes. They're run in a very, very unpretentious fashion, they're proper racers, Gene Haas is a wonderful businessman who is approaching motor racing in the right way, they have a brilliant team principal and they've got two drivers with personality, which I think is superb."
Meanwhile asked about claims that his product is rarer than rocking horse manure, he told Motorsport.com. "I think a lot of people have put two and two together and got five. I've heard these nonsense rumours, whatever, and it's just completely risible. I just ignore it.
"Ultimately we've just produced 90 million cans. As far as I'm concerned anyone who says it doesn't exist it's like saying man never walked on the moon, or Elvis is still alive. It's just fantasy."
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